It will be a new record after the one achieved in 2015, with 12 entries and 15,695 passengers, but still far from other ports in the North.
The port of El Musel set a new record in 2015 in terms of cruise ship traffic and cruise passengers with twelve calls and 15,695 passengers, but higher figures have already been announced for the next season, which will begin in April and is expected to bring 17 ships with a capacity for 32,704 tourists.
Cruise ship traffic in Gijón is on the rise, but without spectacular results. In the last seven years, the number of cruise ship calls has been nine on four occasions. The highest number occurred in 2015, with twelve, and the lowest in 2009, with seven. In 2013, 14 cruise ship calls were scheduled, but storms forced the cancellation of three. For this reason, local businesses and restaurants are showing interest, patience, and caution.
It is also worth noting, when analyzing the characteristics of maritime tourism traffic in El Musel, that the arrival of large shipping companies led to larger ships, which implies a significant increase in visits, proportionally greater than the increase in port calls.
In 2009, the seven cruise ships that arrived at El Musel brought 4,537 tourists, while the twelve that docked in 2015, that is, less than double, carried 15,695 passengers, that is, more than triple that of 2009.
Something similar is expected to happen when comparing 2015 with 2016, that is, in just one year. El Musel will see an increase from 12 to 17 cruise ship calls, a 41.6% rise, while the number of cruise passengers will jump from 15,695 to a potential 32,704, equivalent to a 108.3% increase. It should be emphasized that the 2016 figures are potential, meaning they refer to the total capacity of the ships, which are not always full, while the 2015 figures are actual and final, taken from the statistics of the State Ports Authority.
The Port Authority of Gijón has been investing in cruise traffic for over a decade, and to attract it, it repeatedly attended the sector's most important trade fair, held in Miami. However, the now former president of El Musel, Rosa Aza, explained during her time at the helm of the Gijón port that the profitability is greater for the city than for the port itself.
