Malaga City cruises ahead

MALAGA – IN 2010, the number of cruise ship passengers arriving in Malaga rose 35 per cent compared to 2009, reaching 659,123 passengers and bringing €56m to the city. This now firmly sets Malaga in its place of one of the most popular ports in the Mediterranean. Cruise ship passengers who start their trip for a port in Europe spend an average of €160 per day, while those who are just visiting for the day spend approximately €60, according to the European Cruise Council.

Last year, Malaga received 12 cruise ships which were visiting the port for the first time, and 239,867 started or ended their cruise in Malaga, some 37 per cent of the total number of visitors, compared to just 16 per cent in 2009.

Companies which start or end cruises in Malaga are Royal Caribbean, Pullmantur, Iberocruceros and Seabourn, while MSC and Costa Cruceros use Malaga ports where passengers have the possibility of disembarking.