ARCHIVED - Alicante Port set to sail past pre-pandemic cruise tourism figures

97 stopovers in Alicante on the Costa Blanca are planned over the next 16 months

Provided the evolution of the pandemic continues on its downward trend, Alicante Port looks set to welcome 97 cruise ships between October of this year and December 2022 – 35 over the next three months and 62 next year.

Market experts claim this is a return to the "good times", surpassing the last "great year" which was 2019, when 59 cruises stopped over in the city.

The Alicante Association of Cruise Tourism hosted its fourth annual conference on Monday September 27, during which members and port representatives agreed to "continue promoting Alicante as a very attractive destination for cruise shipping companies", and called on the provincial council's tourism department to "improve the program of excursions offered to cruise passengers who get off ships to explore Alicante".

Another of the association's main objectives is to establish a direct air connection between Alicante-Elche Airport and the United States in order "to try to attract US cruise passengers sailing through Europe".

Since 2015, cruise tourism has generated around five million euros annually on the Costa Blanca in terms of fees paid by shipping companies and money spent by tourists in shops, bars, restaurants, leisure venues and excursions. It's estimated each cruiser spends on average 50 euros per day.

The MSC shipping company was the first to establish Alicante as its "home port for cruises" in spring 2019 with 600 passengers from Alicante and neighbouring provinces setting sail from the port. The firm was followed by Fantasia, which also allowed passengers to embark in Alicante, with the port welcoming more than 110,000 passengers.

Consolidating Alicante as a base for ships cruising the Mediterranean has been an aspiration of the port's management since 1995. 

In 2003, two million euros was invested in the refurbishment of the old maritime cruise terminal, and in 2007 it was confirmed the Explorer-class container ship Jules Verne ship would be based in Alicante, although it was not on the level of the "floating resorts" of Cunard, Royal Caribbean, Costa or MSC. 

Image: Alicante Association for Cruise Tourism