Cruise Atlantic Islands (CAI), the international association that brings together the main port authorities of Macaronesia —including the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde— has presented its statistical results for 2025, closing the year with 4,708,190 cruise passengers, the highest volume recorded by the organization since the beginning of its statistical series in 1994.
This figure represents an increase of 12.64% compared to 2024, when 4,179,673 passengers were recorded, confirming the sustained growth of cruise tourism in the Atlantic.
The 2025 result further reinforces CAI's long-term upward trend: from 286,082 passengers in 1994 to the current record figure, highlighting the international consolidation of Atlantic itineraries and the growing positioning of Macaronesia in the global cruise market.
Beatriz Calzada, president of Cruise Atlantic Islands and president of the Port Authority of Las Palmas, stated: “These figures confirm the excellent moment currently being experienced by the island ports of the Atlantic and reflect the coordinated work carried out by the port authorities that make up CAI. The alignment in promotion, planning, and operational standards allows us to offer cruise lines a solid, complementary, and increasingly competitive Atlantic destination.”
In the 2025 breakdown, the Port Authority of Las Palmas again leads Cruise Atlantic Islands in total number of passengers, with 2,080,042 cruise passengers, representing a market share of 44.3%.
Next is the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which reached 1,616,490 passengers, equivalent to 34.3% of total traffic.
In third place is the Port Authority of Madeira, with 746,257 passengers and a 15.8% market share, while the Port Authority of the Azores registered 157,685 passengers, or 3.3% of the total. Meanwhile, the Port Authority of Cape Verde handled 98,716 passengers in 2025, representing a 2.1% market share.
At the port level, Santa Cruz de Tenerife led CAI traffic in 2025 with 1,126,092 passengers, followed by the Port of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria with 994,954 and Funchal (Madeira) with 744,699. Together, these three ports accounted for the majority of passenger traffic within the association.
In year-on-year terms, Santa Cruz de Tenerife went from 971,918 passengers in 2024 to 1,126,092 in 2025, representing a growth of 15.86%, while Las Palmas increased from 881,674 to 994,954 passengers, with a rise of 12.85%.
Funchal saw more moderate but steady growth, increasing from 725,781 to 744,699 passengers, a 2.61% rise. The Port Authority of Madeira thus maintains a solid and stable volume, supported by Funchal's structural role as a key stop on transatlantic routes.
The growth was also reflected in the Canary Islands port system as a whole, where demand increased significantly in several ports.
- Arrecife (Lanzarote) closed 2025 with 663,396 passengers, compared to 610,176 in 2024, which represents an increase of 8.72%.
- Puerto del Rosario (Fuerteventura) reached 430,692 passengers, compared to 379,804 the previous year, with an increase of 13.40%.
- Santa Cruz de La Palma registered a particularly outstanding growth, going from 254,126 passengers in 2024 to 363,325 in 2025, which represents an increase of 42.98% and reinforces the growing importance of stopovers in non-capital islands.
- Meanwhile, San Sebastián de La Gomera increased from 88,876 to 122,193 passengers, a 37.49% increase, while La Estaca (El Hierro) went from 1,450 to 4,523 passengers, representing a growth of 211.93%.
In the Azores, total traffic reached 157,685 passengers in 2025, up from 152,155 in 2024, reflecting a 3.63% increase. Among the most dynamic ports, Terceira grew from 24,997 passengers in 2024 to 27,607 in 2025, a 10.44% increase, while Corvo went from 30 to 209 passengers, representing a 596.67% increase, although starting from a relatively small base.
In the Cape Verde archipelago, the 2025 figures confirm a gradual expansion of cruise activity on several islands. The port of Praia (Santiago) saw an increase from 41,945 passengers in 2024 to 48,090 in 2025, a rise of 14.65%. Palmeira (Sal) grew from 1,104 to 1,158 passengers (+4.89%). Tarrafal (São Nicolau) advanced from 694 to 1,037 passengers, a 49.42% increase, while Furna (Brava) went from 35 to 112 passengers, representing a 220% growth. Likewise, Porto Novo (Santo Antão) registered steady progress, increasing from 1,741 passengers in 2024 to 1,824 in 2025, a 4.77% increase, reflecting the archipelago's growing integration into the Cruise Atlantic Islands network and its increasingly important role in regional itineraries.
CAI's aggregate figures show a steady recovery after the sharp drop recorded in 2020 and 2021, when passenger traffic fell to 1,033,206 and 882,984 respectively.
Starting in 2022, the partnership began a new phase of expansion, with 2,250,970 passengers that year, followed by 3,329,821 in 2023, 4,179,673 in 2024 and the all-time high of 4,708,190 in 2025.
In this context, Calzada concluded that: “The sustained progress of recent years demonstrates that Cruise Atlantic Islands’ shared strategy is yielding measurable results. We have improved connectivity between archipelagos, secured a presence on new itineraries, and positioned Macaronesia as a complementary Atlantic region within the European cruise offering. This achievement not only reinforces the Atlantic’s role as a strategic area on the global cruise map but also confirms the capacity of Macaronesian ports to work in a coordinated manner, diversify port calls, and respond to growing international demand.”
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