Palma suffers a slight setback after the best season in its history.
The ports of Ibiza, Maó and Alcúdia will see a considerable increase in cruise ship calls in 2016, as well as the number of passengers arriving at these destinations, according to forecasts by the Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB).
Ibiza is the second port in the Balearic Islands to receive the most calls in 2016, 28.3% more than in the previous year, going from 120 to 154. The number of passengers also increases by 27.7%, which means that 252,636 passengers will arrive on the island compared to 197,877 in 2015.
Mahón is another port that will see an increase in cruise ship calls this year. According to forecasts, the number will rise from 85 to 93, representing a 9.4% increase. These eight additional cruise ships will result in a 34.5% increase in the number of passengers. Specifically, a total of 79,783 people will disembark in the capital of Menorca, compared to 59,332 in 2015.
In Mallorca, the case of Alcúdia stands out, where a total of ten cruise ships are expected to arrive, five more than last year. This 100% increase implies a 415% rise in the number of passengers, from 1,365 to 7,032
Palma declines slightly, after a 2015 that can be described as the best in history in terms of the arrival of tourist cruises to the city (partly due to the diversion of cruises that were scheduled to go to Tunisia).
While 569 cruise ships arrived in Palma in 2015, the initial forecast for 2016 is 524, a decrease of 6.5%. The number of passengers also falls by 12%, from 1,736,294 to 1,525,000.
Even with this slight decrease, Palma continues to surpass the figures for a "normal year" like 2014, when 475 port calls and 1,336,000 passengers were recorded. The city continues to consolidate its position as a home port, with 166 port calls scheduled for 2016.
Forecasts indicate that the Balearic Islands will continue to be one of the main destinations for cruises in 2016.
