MADRID: The head of the Spanish Port Agency Spain Jose Llorca said that” the Spain expects the number of visiting cruise ship passengers to exceed the historic level of 8 million as the business benefits from factors such as the depreciation of the euro versus the dollar”. He further added that” the cruise sector is a pillar of his country’s tourism industry”.
The Ports of Spain this year’s edition of the cruise industry’s most important event brings together representatives of 24 port authorities and 40 firms in the tourism sector, a larger contingent than in previous years.
Apart from Spain’s cultural, historical and gastronomic treasures, the “good infrastructure and the adequate depth” of Spanish ports make the country attractive for cruise lines, he said.Spain is well established as tourism destination, “but we need to renovate constantly and to be creative” to attract more and more cruise passengers, he said.
Barcelona and the Balearic Islands still account for 64 percent of the cruise ships that dock in Spain, representing 4.9 million passengers.
