The 2021-22 cruise season (statistical year from July 1st to June 30th of the following year) concludes in the Port of Las Palmas with the arrival of two large cruise ships en route from the British port of Southampton. The ships 'Ventura', from P&O, and 'Anthem of the Seas', from Royal Caribbean, bring the total number of passengers this season to 730,000 (provisional figure). The Port of Las Palmas finishes the 2021-22 season as the leading cruise port in Spain.
The president of the Port Authority of Las Palmas, Luis Ibarra, highlighted the work carried out during the pandemic by various Canary Islands administrations to reactivate cruise traffic in the archipelago's ports when this activity was at a standstill worldwide. "The figure we are currently seeing of 730,000 passengers in the 2021-22 statistical period is the result of that initiative and the perseverance of many professionals, companies, and administrations.".
“We are very pleased to close out a difficult few years, having positioned ourselves as the leading port in Spain for cruise passengers after overcoming the worst crisis the cruise industry has ever faced.” However, the figure of around 730,000 passengers and 650 port calls, and despite being the top Spanish port for this traffic this season, is 40 percent below pre-pandemic levels.
“The important thing about cruise traffic for a port is the economic impact it has on the destination, not on the dock; it has more to do with social responsibility than with port accounts,” explains Luis Ibarra, who adds, “More than 5,000 British tourists will disembark this Saturday in Gran Canaria, a luxurious end to the season that will boost commerce, hospitality and tourist services in general on the island.”.
By port, Arrecife will have received approximately 242,000 cruise passengers this 2021-22 season; Puerto del Rosario, about 137,000; and Las Palmas, almost 350,000 (provisional figures).
The low season now begins, running through July, August, and September, during which only about half a dozen cruise ships will operate in the Canary Islands. The first homeport operation in Las Palmas for the 2022-23 season will be in mid-October, operated by TUI Cruises.
It is worth noting that during this low season period, the demolition of the old maritime stations at the Santa Catalina dock will begin, in order to start construction of the new international cruise terminal at the Port of Las Palmas at the end of the year.
In the period from January to April 2022 (the latest official statistics), the ports under the jurisdiction of the Port Authority of Las Palmas received 400,047 passengers. The second busiest port authority, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, received 280,763 passengers. Barcelona was third with 219,578 passengers, followed by the Balearic Islands with 153,870.
Of the total number of cruise passengers in Spanish ports this year (January-April 2022), almost a third have stopped at the ports of the Port Authority of Las Palmas, with the Port of Las Palmas being a home port for many of these shipping companies.
