The Minister of Tourism and Sport, Francisco Javier Fernández, met today in Seville with the heads of the seven Port Authorities of the region to take stock of the evolution of the cruise segment and to discuss the promotional strategies that will be developed this 2018 through the unified offer under the Andalucía Cruises brand at the various international fairs.
The meeting was attended by the presidents of the Port Authorities that are grouped in the SunCruise Andalucía association for the promotion of the cruise segment: Algeciras (Cádiz), Manuel Morón; Almería, Carmen Ortiz; Bahía de Cádiz, José Luis Blanco; Huelva, José Luis Ramos; Málaga, Paulino Plata; Motril (Granada), Francisco Álvarez de la Chica; and Sevilla, Manuel Gracia.
The meeting aimed to analyze new marketing channels and strengthen the institutional cooperation framework to improve the competitiveness of Andalusian ports and the positioning of the destination as a powerhouse in the cruise segment, which plays a prominent role in the regional tourism sector both in terms of passenger and ship volume, and its ability to reduce seasonality.
During 2017, Andalusian ports received over 940,000 cruise passengers, representing 10% of the national total. Regarding the tourist profile, the bulk of the demand (88%) comes from the international market. The average daily expenditure of these visitors in Andalusia is €40.60, with the majority of this spending (almost 69%) going towards dining and shopping.
