In 2022, the Port of Lisbon broke its record for cruise ship calls and cruise passengers originating from and/or destined for the Portuguese capital, surpassing 100 calls in this segment for the first time. According to the Port of Lisbon, there were 103 turnaround cruise ship calls involving 88,292 passengers.
“Compared to 2019, these numbers represent growth of 43% in port calls and 21% in the number of passengers,” confirmed the Port of Lisbon Authority (APL).
According to the APL, in economic terms, the "turnaround" segment is the one that contributes the most wealth to destinations: a passenger embarking in Lisbon spends an average of 367 euros in the city, according to a study on the economic impact of cruise activity in Lisbon, carried out by Netsonda and Nova SBE.
In total, the port of Lisbon recorded 327 cruise ship calls, “representing an increase of 5.5%, compared to the 310 recorded in 2019.”
Despite having more stopovers, the port of Lisbon did not register an increase in the number of passengers (which was 492,438 people), "largely justified by the records achieved in the first half of the year, a period in which the health protocols on board by the companies were still in force," he explained.
Interestingly, APL noted that last year 22 cruise ships made their maiden voyages to the Port of Lisbon, two of which—the 'Silver Dawn' and the 'Evrima'—were christened in the city. Furthermore, Lisbon's cruise terminal was recognized as the best in Europe by the World Cruise Awards in 2022.
