2022 total
8.18 million cruise passengers
First port · 2022
2.33 million cruise passengers
Series high, 2012–2025
14.1 million cruise passengers
Cruise calls
4,528 calls
The 2022 balance
Spanish ports received 8.18 million cruise passengers in 2022, 268.6% more than in 2021 (5.96 million 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: 2022 was 42% below it and ranks 9th of the 14 years with data.
In the 2022 ranking, the ports moving up on 2021 are Baleares (from 3rd to 2nd), Valencia (from 6th to 5th) and A Coruña (from 11th to 8th); those moving down are Las Palmas (from 2nd to 3rd), Bahía de Cádiz (from 5th to 6th) and Cartagena (from 8th to 9th).
Cruise calls: 4,528 calls in 2022, 115.2% more than in 2021. Barcelona ranks first on this measure, with 807 calls.
Barcelona ranks first among port authorities with 2.33 million cruise passengers in 2022 (347.2% more than in 2021). It is followed by Baleares (1.73 million) and Las Palmas (1.04 million). Together, the three account for 62.3% of the total.
The largest increases were recorded by Bilbao (+736.1%), A Coruña (+638.1%) and Baleares (+400.6%). 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, 759,918 cruise passengers, +149.6%), Valencia (5th, 623,053 cruise passengers, +376.1%), Bahía de Cádiz (6th, 394,276 cruise passengers, +195.3%), Málaga (7th, 342,045 cruise passengers, +189.1%), A Coruña (8th, 222,723 cruise passengers, +638.1%), Cartagena (9th, 175,706 cruise passengers, +150.7%) and Vigo (10th, 173,220 cruise passengers, +399.8%).
At the bottom of the table are Pasaia (1,480 cruise passengers), Castellón (633 cruise passengers) and Avilés (166 cruise passengers), out of a total of 28 port authorities with data.
The distribution is highly concentrated: the top five account for 79.2% of the total and 6 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 4.8%. 25 of the 27 port authorities with a comparison grew compared with 2021, 25 of them by double digits, and 2 fell.
Of the 12 months of 2022 with data, 12 are above the same month of 2021 and 0 below; over the last three months (October, November, December) the figure is up 102.2% on the same months of 2021; the largest year-on-year difference was in July (up 743.1%); the highest point in the series was October, at 1.22 M, and the lowest February, at 207,876.
Between 2012 and 2022 the figure went from 7.6 M to 8.18 M, an increase of 7.7% over 10 years (+0.7% a year on average). The best year was 2019 (10.7 M) and the worst 2020 (1.37 M).
Top 10 · Ranking of port authorities · 2022
Month by month · 2022 vs 2021
Annual series, 2012–2022
Full table · 28 port authorities · 2022
| # | Port authorities | 2022 | Change on 2021 | 2021 | Share | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 2.33 M | +347.2% | 520,854 | 28.5% | Port |
| 2 | Baleares | 1.73 M | +400.6% | 345,099 | 21.1% | Port |
| 3 | Las Palmas | 1.04 M | +130.0% | 450,299 | 12.7% | Port |
| 4 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 759,918 | +149.6% | 304,405 | 9.3% | Port |
| 5 | Valencia | 623,053 | +376.1% | 130,869 | 7.6% | Port |
| 6 | Bahía de Cádiz | 394,276 | +195.3% | 133,511 | 4.8% | Port |
| 7 | Málaga | 342,045 | +189.1% | 118,330 | 4.2% | Port |
| 8 | A Coruña | 222,723 | +638.1% | 30,177 | 2.7% | Port |
| 9 | Cartagena | 175,706 | +150.7% | 70,087 | 2.1% | Port |
| 10 | Vigo | 173,220 | +399.8% | 34,656 | 2.1% | Port |
| 11 | Alicante | 117,434 | +170.2% | 43,466 | 1.4% | Port |
| 12 | Bilbao | 109,348 | +736.1% | 13,079 | 1.3% | Port |
| 13 | Tarragona | 63,925 | +4,663.4% | 1,342 | 0.8% | Port |
| 14 | Gijón | 25,441 | +615.0% | 3,558 | 0.3% | Port |
| 15 | Santander | 20,157 | +1,248.3% | 1,495 | 0.2% | Port |
| 16 | Sevilla | 18,384 | +295.6% | 4,647 | 0.2% | Port |
| 17 | Ferrol-San Cibrao | 13,244 | +327.8% | 3,096 | 0.2% | Port |
| 18 | Almería | 7,038 | +84.3% | 3,819 | 0.1% | Port |
| 19 | Motril | 6,395 | +306.0% | 1,575 | 0.1% | Port |
| 20 | Melilla | 5,028 | +265.9% | 1,374 | 0.1% | Port |
| 21 | Ceuta | 3,520 | +2,246.7% | 150 | 0.0% | Port |
| 22 | Vilagarcía | 2,076 | +78.0% | 1,166 | 0.0% | Port |
| 23 | Huelva | 1,956 | +234.9% | 584 | 0.0% | Port |
| 24 | Pasaia | 1,480 | +980.3% | 137 | 0.0% | Port |
| 25 | Castellón | 633 | −41.2% | 1,077 | 0.0% | Port |
| 26 | Avilés | 166 | +21.2% | 137 | 0.0% | Port |
| 27 | Bahía de Algeciras | 0 | −100.0% | — | 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 2022?
Barcelona, with 2.33 million cruise passengers in 2022, 28.5% of the total.
What was the cruise passenger traffic figure for Spanish ports in 2022?
8.18 million cruise passengers in 2022, 268.6% more than in 2021.
Was 2022 a record year?
No: the high point of the 2012–2025 series is 2025, with 14.1 million cruise passengers; 2022 was 42% below it.
Source
Puertos del Estado. To explore the data in detail, use PortStats · cruise passengers by port, annual series or see the original source.