Balearic Cruise Passenger Traffic Falls 7.2% Through September
In September, 121 cruise ships brought 327,484 passengers to the Balearic Islands. Palma’s Ponent/Paraires terminals serve as the archipelago’s main cruise and ferry gateway.
Balearic ports handled 1.96 million cruise passengers between January and September, down 7.2% from the same period a year earlier, according to Puertos del Estado. The ports received 640 cruise ships over the nine months, a smaller decline of 2.4%.
The regional downturn contrasted with growth across Spain’s state port network, where cruise passenger traffic increased 2% to 10.5 million.
In September alone, the Balearic Islands recorded 327,484 cruise passengers arriving aboard 121 ships. The figures came without comment from Balearic port officials.
Including scheduled passenger services as well as cruises, the archipelago’s ports handled 7.9 million passenger movements during the first nine months, down 3.9% year over year.
Across the Spanish state port network, combined passenger traffic reached nearly 33 million movements through September, a decrease of 1.1%. Passengers using maritime services for transport purposes accounted for 22.6 million journeys, down 2.5%; growth in cruise traffic partially offset that fall.
Palma on Mallorca is the Balearics’ principal cruise gateway, with its Ponent/Paraires terminals serving both cruise ships and ferries. Other cruise ports in the archipelago include Mahon on Menorca and Ibiza Town.
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