According to data collected by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), 587,000 Spaniards enjoyed a cruise in 2023, a figure that consolidates the Spanish market as the fourth largest source market in Europe and places it ninth worldwide.
The volume reached in 2023 represents a new growth in the series that runs from 2014 to 2023, only interrupted in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Specifically, an increase of 42% compared to 2022, when the effects of the health crisis were still being felt, and 6% compared to 2019.
Meanwhile, from a global perspective, the industry broke its own record in 2023, registering 31.7 million cruise tourists, which is 7% more than in 2019 (pre-pandemic).
As for the destinations chosen by Spanish cruise tourists, the Mediterranean maintains its usual hegemonic position, accounting for 79.4% of trips, followed by Northern Europe which receives 8.8% of Spanish travelers and the Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda with 3.9%.
On the other hand, the average age of the Spanish cruise tourist was 45 years, which makes him a slightly younger passenger than the European (47.9 years).
The director of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) in Spain, Alfredo Serrano, values the results: “These figures corroborate our forecasts and demonstrate that the cruise industry is an increasingly attractive option for Spanish tourists.”
Similarly, Serrano points out: “The efforts that shipping companies are making both to adapt and evolve their product to unsuspected limits, as well as to facilitate boarding in Spanish ports or travel to ports outside our borders are bearing fruit.”
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