Ceuta displays its potential at the world's largest cruise ship fair

The port of Ceuta was one of the key participants in the renowned Seatrade Cruise Global 2019, the world's largest cruise fair, held in Miami in early April. Together with the country’s main areas and under the Ports of Spain umbrella, Spanish representation demonstrated the sector’s joint strength, as proven by the latest balance sheets. According to Puertos del Estado, the number of cruise passengers set a new record for Spain in 2018, making our country the second most visited on the European continent after Italy. As for the future, the estimate is to reach 12 million cruise ship passengers in 2019 (approx. two million more than in 2018).

These figures are a true reflection of the strengthening and rise of cruise ship tourism in Spain, as well as the role of the sector in the country's economy as a whole. According to the port agency, the number of cruise passengers has multiplied by 20 in the past quarter century, rising from 480,000 passengers in 1992 to 10.1 million in 2018 (sixth consecutive year of growth). As for economic data, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) indicated that the sector's direct contribution to the national economy was 1,481 million euros in 2017 (12% more than in 2015), providing direct employment for 31,233 people.

Specifically, the ports of the Mediterranean Façade received a total of 6,888,298 passengers (67.7% of the total), representing a growth of 11.35% over 2017. For their part, the ports of the Atlantic-Cantabrian Façade attracted 939,190 cruise passengers (9.2% of the national total), obtaining an increase of 5.75%. Our staff at Salama, a reference shipping agency in the port of Ceuta, was responsible for tending to the needs of the main ships that docked in the Strait of Gibraltar (including the mega cruise ships Shapphire Princess and Koningsdam).

The sector’s data recorded at the beginning of 2019 seems to indicate that the upward trend that began in 2012 is following the same line of positive evolution. By February of this year, 1,089,263 cruise passengers had been registered, 5.7% more than in the same period last year.

In this context, as evidenced by the Seatrade Cruise Global 2019, Spanish ports continue to strive to make the Blue Carpet their main seal of distinction. The idea is to convey to port visitors that a blue carpet is unfolded before them, leading to the interior of Spanish towns and cities (Blue Carpet: Step into Spain through world class ports).

The Seatrade Cruise Global, organised by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), was attended by 700 exhibiting companies from 110 countries.