The president of State Ports, José Llorca, accompanied by the president of the Tenerife Island Council, Carlos Alonso, the mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, José Manuel Bermúdez, the general manager of Seatrade, Andrew Williams, and the president of the Port Authority, Ricardo Melchior, inaugurated the 11th edition of the Seatrade Cruise Med Trade Fair and Congress, which will be held in Santa Cruz de Tenerife over the next three days. In his address, Llorca highlighted Spain's potential in this type of tourism, noting that it is the second most visited country in Europe by cruise lines.
Llorca noted that one in four cruise passengers visiting Spain choose tours of the Macaronesian archipelago, which includes the Canary Islands, having received more than 2.2 million visitors in 2015. If forecasts are met, he added, we could close this year with a new record, exceeding 8.6 million cruise passengers nationwide.
In the international context, Spanish ports are highly significant, with seven Spanish Port Authorities ranking among the top 40 in Europe in 2014, making Spain the second European country after Italy, which is represented by nine ports. Barcelona, one of the world's top five ports in terms of cargo volume, is the undisputed leader, ahead of ports such as Civitavecchia and Venice. The Canary Island ports also hold prominent positions (Las Palmas 8th and Santa Cruz de Tenerife 11th), despite competing with more established Mediterranean destinations.
