2016 total
8.69 million cruise passengers
First port · 2016
2.68 million cruise passengers
Series high, 2012–2025
14.1 million cruise passengers
Cruise calls
3,920 calls
The 2016 balance
Spanish ports received 8.69 million cruise passengers in 2016, 0.5% more than in 2015 (47,295 cruise passengers more). This is the year-end balance according to Puertos del Estado’s monthly statistics, with December data for the 28 port authorities.
The high point of the 2012–2025 series is 2025, with 14.1 million cruise passengers: 2016 was 38.4% below it and ranks 7th of the 14 years with data. At the end of 2016 it was the highest figure in the series, which starts in 2012; it was later exceeded in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
In the 2016 ranking, the ports moving up on 2015 are Valencia (from 7th to 6th) and Cartagena (from 9th to 8th); those moving down are Bahía de Cádiz (from 6th to 7th) and Vigo (from 8th to 9th). The top three positions are unchanged.
Cruise calls: 3,920 calls in 2016, 1.6% more than in 2015. Barcelona ranks first on this measure, with 758 calls.
Barcelona ranks first among port authorities with 2.68 million cruise passengers in 2016 (5.6% more than in 2015). It is followed by Baleares (1.96 million) and Las Palmas (1.1 million). Together, the three account for 66.1% of the total.
The largest increases were recorded by Cartagena (+24.5%), Valencia (+8.6%) and Alicante (+8.1%); the steepest falls by Vigo (−17.4%), Las Palmas (−11.8%) and A Coruña (−9.8%). The comparison is limited to port authorities that account for at least 1% of the total, so that an extreme swing at a small player does not distort the picture.
The rest of the top ten are Santa Cruz de Tenerife (4th, 883,339 cruise passengers, −5.4%), Málaga (5th, 444,176 cruise passengers, +6.1%), Valencia (6th, 403,264 cruise passengers, +8.6%), Bahía de Cádiz (7th, 385,067 cruise passengers, −6.4%), Cartagena (8th, 187,813 cruise passengers, +24.5%), Vigo (9th, 169,223 cruise passengers, −17.4%) and A Coruña (10th, 126,735 cruise passengers, −9.8%).
At the bottom of the table are Castellón (1,095 cruise passengers), Vilagarcía (758 cruise passengers) and Pasaia (573 cruise passengers), out of a total of 28 port authorities with data.
The distribution is highly concentrated: the top five account for 81.4% of the total and 5 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 4%. 15 of the 26 port authorities with a comparison grew compared with 2015, 9 of them by double digits, and 11 fell.
Of the 12 months of 2016 with data, 6 are above the same month of 2015 and 6 below; over the last three months (October, November, December) the figure is down 9% on the same months of 2015; the largest year-on-year difference was in December (down 36.2%); the highest point in the series was October, at 1.19 M, and the lowest February, at 371,649.
Between 2012 and 2016 the figure went from 7.6 M to 8.69 M, an increase of 14.4% over 4 years (+3.4% a year on average); the last year is the high point of the series and the low was 2012 (7.6 M).
Top 10 · Ranking of port authorities · 2016
Month by month · 2016 vs 2015
Annual series, 2012–2016
Full table · 28 port authorities · 2016
| # | Port authorities | 2016 | Change on 2015 | 2015 | Share | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 2.68 M | +5.6% | 2.54 M | 30.9% | Port |
| 2 | Baleares | 1.96 M | +0.2% | 1.96 M | 22.6% | Port |
| 3 | Las Palmas | 1.1 M | −11.8% | 1.25 M | 12.7% | Port |
| 4 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 883,339 | −5.4% | 933,417 | 10.2% | Port |
| 5 | Málaga | 444,176 | +6.1% | 418,503 | 5.1% | Port |
| 6 | Valencia | 403,264 | +8.6% | 371,374 | 4.6% | Port |
| 7 | Bahía de Cádiz | 385,067 | −6.4% | 411,455 | 4.4% | Port |
| 8 | Cartagena | 187,813 | +24.5% | 150,795 | 2.2% | Port |
| 9 | Vigo | 169,223 | −17.4% | 204,979 | 1.9% | Port |
| 10 | A Coruña | 126,735 | −9.8% | 140,451 | 1.5% | Port |
| 11 | Alicante | 89,000 | +8.1% | 82,316 | 1.0% | Port |
| 12 | Bilbao | 86,598 | +22.8% | 70,542 | 1.0% | Port |
| 13 | Gijón | 32,804 | +103.2% | 16,140 | 0.4% | Port |
| 14 | Almería | 28,692 | +65.8% | 17,304 | 0.3% | Port |
| 15 | Sevilla | 21,010 | +18.5% | 17,730 | 0.2% | Port |
| 16 | Ferrol-San Cibrao | 20,061 | −6.9% | 21,559 | 0.2% | Port |
| 17 | Huelva | 19,573 | +424.7% | 3,730 | 0.2% | Port |
| 18 | Ceuta | 19,456 | +1,126.0% | 1,587 | 0.2% | Port |
| 19 | Tarragona | 13,445 | +9.5% | 12,277 | 0.2% | Port |
| 20 | Motril | 4,570 | −29.5% | 6,481 | 0.1% | Port |
| 21 | Avilés | 2,707 | +10.3% | 2,454 | 0.0% | Port |
| 22 | Santander | 2,354 | −72.7% | 8,614 | 0.0% | Port |
| 23 | Melilla | 1,224 | −9.5% | 1,352 | 0.0% | Port |
| 24 | Castellón | 1,095 | +199.2% | 366 | 0.0% | Port |
| 25 | Vilagarcía | 758 | −36.3% | 1,190 | 0.0% | Port |
| 26 | Pasaia | 573 | −24.4% | 758 | 0.0% | Port |
| 27 | Bahía de Algeciras | 0 | — | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 28 | Marín y Ría de Pontevedra | 0 | — | — | 0.0% | Port |
What this indicator measures
Puertos del Estado counts each cruise passenger at every port where they embark, disembark or are in transit, so the same passenger can be counted at several ports on an itinerary. Calls are the arrivals of cruise ships. Passengers per call indicate the average size of the ships each port receives.
Frequently asked questions
Which was Spain’s first port by cruise passenger traffic in 2016?
Barcelona, with 2.68 million cruise passengers in 2016, 30.9% of the total.
What was the cruise passenger traffic figure for Spanish ports in 2016?
8.69 million cruise passengers in 2016, 0.5% more than in 2015.
Was 2016 a record year?
At the time, yes: at the end of 2016, 8.69 million cruise passengers was the highest annual figure in the series, which starts in 2012. It was later exceeded in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025; the high point of the 2012–2025 series is 2025, with 14.1 million cruise passengers.
Source
Puertos del Estado. To explore the data in detail, use PortStats · cruise passengers by port, annual series or see the original source.