The president of the Port Authority of A Coruña, Enrique Losada, is leading the public body's delegation at the Seatrade Cruise Global trade fair, taking place this week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is the world's most important cruise industry event, with a growing influence as an international business platform. A Coruña has its own space within the State Ports Authority's stand, alongside 17 other Spanish ports.
This event brings together not only the world's leading ports, but also major shipping companies, shipping agents, ship and passenger service providers, tour operators, and tourism promotion agencies. The Port of A Coruña aims to showcase its offerings, a well-established and internationally renowned product that has positioned the port as the leader on the Cantabrian-Atlantic coast in terms of both port calls and passenger traffic.
This leap has been driven by an ambitious commercial strategy, as well as the improvement of services and infrastructure dedicated to the ship and the passenger, specialized tourist attention, the redevelopment of the area around the Transatlantic Dock and a very competitive policy in terms of rates and service fees.
During this trade fair, the A Coruña delegation is holding numerous meetings to strengthen existing contacts and develop new initiatives to promote and highlight the current boom in the sector in A Coruña and its future potential. This potential is supported by the upward trend observed since 2009, when passenger numbers barely exceeded 54,000. Along with Enrique Losada, other members of the Port Authority's management team and Corunna Cruise Terminal, which operates the cruise terminal, have also attended Seatrade.
This year's schedule includes 121 cruise ship calls and over 170,000 passengers, generating an estimated economic impact of €15 million. A Coruña has established itself as one of the most attractive destinations in the Atlantic and is a powerful driver of tourism year-round. Proof of this is that in May and September, the peak months for cruises in A Coruña, more than 25 calls are expected. This extends the city's traditionally summer tourist season into spring and autumn.
