In 2024, Spain's maritime sector experienced a significant surge, welcoming 12.8+ million cruise ship tourists - a 6.7% increase over 2023.
The growth was accompanied by an additional 200 ship calls (totaling 4700) throughout the year. When combined with regular passenger ferry services (~28 million passengers), Spain's total shipping traffic reached 40.8 million.
Port Barcelona maintained its position as a premier cruise destination, accommodating 3.6 million pax (2.4% rise over 2023). Other notable Spanish ports are the Balearic Islands (2.5 million pax), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (1.8 million/23.7% increase) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1.3 million/19% increase).
December 2024 was particularly noteworthy, with 2.7+ million passengers passing through Spanish ports - a 9.4% increase from December 2023. Of these, 914,468 were cruisers, representing a significant 23.6% uptick.
These figures underscore Spain's robust recovery and growth in the maritime tourism sector, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and highlighting the nation's enduring appeal to cruise travelers.