The Port of Alicante expects to double the number of cruise passengers during 2015, reaching 88,000 aboard 49 ships, according to the new president of the Port Authority, Juan Ferrer. Last year ended with 34,583 passengers disembarking from 29 cruise ships, so the approximately 88,000 expected during 2015 on 49 ships represents "a little more than double.".
Cruise ship passengers are considered high-value tourists due to their average daily spending, estimated at €75 per person, plus crew members' spending of between €50 and €60. The profile of cruise passengers docking at Pier 14 is predominantly older during the spring, autumn, and winter months, and more family-oriented in the summer, with a predominance of British, German, and French tourists, in addition to Spaniards.
Ferrer explained that among the measures the port has taken to promote Alicante as a cruise destination are lower port fees and increased efforts in the services provided, all of which make the port call more attractive. This includes expanding the range of excursions—a program planned two years in advance—and facilitating provisioning and parking for cars and buses.
Furthermore, it should be added that Alicante has the "important advantage" of having suitable docks and the capacity to serve the largest ships in the world, such as the 'Queen Elizabeth'.
When asked about the possibility of the city once again becoming a "home port" for a cruise line, Ferrer stated that "it's being worked on" and, without specifying anything yet because nothing has been signed, he added that "this year we will surely have some things," although they are also working on "other cruise options that will make an overnight stay here, without being a home port: It's another variety, and the best thing is that this year we have some positive surprises.".
Ferrer intends to reach an agreement with the city council on the planning of potential temporary activity in the 'Volvo Zone,' which represents Alicante's most iconic landmark. Another priority he wants to share with the new mayor, Miguel Valor, is to ensure that Alicante truly becomes a port city, with the aim of boosting employment and the economy through increased freight traffic.
Therefore, the port needs the General Urban Development Plan (PGOU) to address the needs of logistics activities by allocating new land a few kilometers inland that could be used, for example, as a car storage yard. "We want the city to benefit from the flow of goods, and we need to create areas for activities that contribute to this growth, because if it's not done here, it will be done in other cities," he warns.
Among the challenges for 2015, Ferrer has set himself the recovery of fishing activity in the docks of Poniente.
