Seatrade Med, the most important cruise trade fair in Southern Europe, will be held from September 16 to 18.
According to forecasts, 2014 will end with 7.7 million cruise passengers.
Puertos del Estado will be present at the Seatrade Med trade fair, under the slogan “Blue Carpet”, bringing together 11 Port Authorities (A Coruña, Alicante, Avilés, Castellón, Ceuta, Ferrol, Gijón, Santander, Valencia, Vigo and Vilagarcía) at stand 500 in Hall 8. The president of Puertos del Estado, José Llorca, together with the president of the Port Authority of Barcelona, Sixte Cambra, will preside over the opening ceremony which will take place on the 16th at 12:00 at the Fira de Barcelona.
With the aim of boosting the cruise sector in our country, from the point of view of improving port facilities, and the cultural and tourist offer, Puertos del Estado launched the “Blue Carpet” campaign in 2013, through which, starting from the concept that ports are the gateway to our country, the Spain brand is presented as a destination that allows tourists to access a differentiated cultural, gastronomic, scenic and leisure offer.
The Seatrade Med trade fair in Barcelona is the most important event of its kind in Europe, bringing together companies from around the world. The leading figures in the sector will participate in the conferences and discussions held during the three-day event, from September 16th to 18th.
According to the port system's forecasts, 2014 will close with just over 7.7 million cruise passengers, a 1% increase compared to 2013, which will translate into an increase of more than 100,000 passengers. In 2015, 7.9 million cruise passengers could be reached, approaching the record set in 2011 when nearly 8 million cruise passengers were recorded.
| Cumulative January-July | |||
| 2013 | 2014 | Var. (%) | |
| A Coruña | 68.099 | 62.364 | -8,42 |
| Alicante | 18.206 | 17.036 | -6,43 |
| Almería | 8.243 | 5.427 | -34,16 |
| Avilés | 1.400 | 0 | -100,00 |
| Bay of Cadiz | 173.399 | 172.547 | -0,49 |
| Balearics | 778.486 | 784.913 | 0,83 |
| Barcelona | 1.363.553 | 1.201.103 | -11,91 |
| Bilbao | 13.770 | 37.920 | 175,38 |
| Cartagena | 67.080 | 63.969 | -4,64 |
| Castellón | 325 | 0 | -100,00 |
| Ceuta | 1.485 | 2.141 | 44,18 |
| Ferrol-San Cibrao | 3.130 | 21.371 | 582,78 |
| Gijón | 4.916 | 6.017 | 22,40 |
| Las Palmas | 377.047 | 580.294 | 53,90 |
| Malaga | 183.674 | 182.266 | -0,77 |
| Melilla | 1.354 | 254 | -81,24 |
| Motril | 8.878 | 14.224 | 60,22 |
| Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 428.641 | 455.536 | 6,27 |
| Santander | 8.154 | 9.910 | 21,54 |
| Seville | 10.003 | 8.375 | -16,28 |
| Tarragona | 172 | 359 | 108,72 |
| Valencia | 223.326 | 162.134 | -27,40 |
| Vigo | 89.290 | 56.562 | -36,65 |
| Vilagarcía | 1.021 | 897 | -12,14 |
| Totals | 3.833.652 | 3.845.619 | 0,31 |
The Cruise Sector in Spain
- In 2013, Spanish ports received 7.6 million visits and 3,846 cruise ships. The sector has grown by 275% in the last decade, from 2.7 million visitors in 2002 to the current 7.6 million
- Of the more than 60 million tourists who visited Spain in 2013, nearly 5 million were cruise passengers, which means that about 8% of international tourism to Spain arrived via a port
- Spanish ports billed nearly 19 million euros from the passenger tax levied on cruise passengers in 2013.
- The business volume generated by the cruise industry in Spain during 2013 amounted to 1.255 billion euros
- The total employment generated (direct, indirect and induced) by the cruise industry in Spain amounted to 26,389 people in 2013
