2023 total
12 million cruise passengers
First port · 2023
3.57 million cruise passengers
Series high, 2012–2025
14.1 million cruise passengers
Cruise calls
4,501 calls
The 2023 balance
Spanish ports received 12 million cruise passengers in 2023, 46.9% more than in 2022 (3.83 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: 2023 was 14.8% below it and ranks 3rd of the 14 years with data. At the end of 2023 it was the highest figure in the series, which starts in 2012; it was later exceeded in 2024 and 2025.
In the 2023 ranking, the ports moving up on 2022 are Vigo (from 10th to 9th) and Alicante (from 11th to 10th). The top three positions are unchanged.
Cruise calls: 4,501 calls in 2023, 0.6% less than in 2022. Barcelona ranks first on this measure, with 804 calls.
Barcelona ranks first among port authorities with 3.57 million cruise passengers in 2023 (53.2% more than in 2022). It is followed by Baleares (2.52 million) and Las Palmas (1.51 million). Together, the three account for 63.2% of the total.
The largest increases were recorded by Bahía de Cádiz (+72.4%), Alicante (+67.0%) and Barcelona (+53.2%). 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, 1.11 million, +45.6%), Valencia (5th, 786,588 cruise passengers, +26.2%), Bahía de Cádiz (6th, 679,541 cruise passengers, +72.4%), Málaga (7th, 503,898 cruise passengers, +47.3%), A Coruña (8th, 323,991 cruise passengers, +45.5%), Vigo (9th, 219,298 cruise passengers, +26.6%) and Alicante (10th, 196,058 cruise passengers, +67.0%).
At the bottom of the table are Pasaia (935 cruise passengers), Castellón (170 cruise passengers) and Bahía de Algeciras (24 cruise passengers), out of a total of 28 port authorities with data.
The distribution is highly concentrated: the top five account for 79% of the total and 6 port authorities are enough to reach 80%, while the other 18 port authorities further down share the remaining 5%. 20 of the 26 port authorities with a comparison grew compared with 2022, 17 of them by double digits, and 6 fell.
Of the 12 months of 2023 with data, 12 are above the same month of 2022 and 0 below; over the last three months (October, November, December) the figure is up 23.4% on the same months of 2022; the largest year-on-year difference was in May (up 89.9%); the highest point in the series was October, at 1.53 M, and the lowest February, at 548,916.
Between 2012 and 2023 the figure went from 7.6 M to 12 M, an increase of 58.1% over 11 years (+4.3% a year on average); the last year is the high point of the series and the low was 2020 (1.37 M).
Top 10 · Ranking of port authorities · 2023
Month by month · 2023 vs 2022
Annual series, 2012–2023
Full table · 28 port authorities · 2023
| # | Port authorities | 2023 | Change on 2022 | 2022 | Share | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 3.57 M | +53.2% | 2.33 M | 29.7% | Port |
| 2 | Baleares | 2.52 M | +45.7% | 1.73 M | 21.0% | Port |
| 3 | Las Palmas | 1.51 M | +46.0% | 1.04 M | 12.6% | Port |
| 4 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 1.11 M | +45.6% | 759,918 | 9.2% | Port |
| 5 | Valencia | 786,588 | +26.2% | 623,053 | 6.5% | Port |
| 6 | Bahía de Cádiz | 679,541 | +72.4% | 394,276 | 5.7% | Port |
| 7 | Málaga | 503,898 | +47.3% | 342,045 | 4.2% | Port |
| 8 | A Coruña | 323,991 | +45.5% | 222,723 | 2.7% | Port |
| 9 | Vigo | 219,298 | +26.6% | 173,220 | 1.8% | Port |
| 10 | Alicante | 196,058 | +67.0% | 117,434 | 1.6% | Port |
| 11 | Cartagena | 176,441 | +0.4% | 175,706 | 1.5% | Port |
| 12 | Bilbao | 149,032 | +36.3% | 109,348 | 1.2% | Port |
| 13 | Tarragona | 114,580 | +79.2% | 63,925 | 1.0% | Port |
| 14 | Motril | 34,609 | +441.2% | 6,395 | 0.3% | Port |
| 15 | Gijón | 30,751 | +20.9% | 25,441 | 0.3% | Port |
| 16 | Ceuta | 26,108 | +641.7% | 3,520 | 0.2% | Port |
| 17 | Santander | 23,833 | +18.2% | 20,157 | 0.2% | Port |
| 18 | Sevilla | 19,655 | +6.9% | 18,384 | 0.2% | Port |
| 19 | Almería | 8,881 | +26.2% | 7,038 | 0.1% | Port |
| 20 | Ferrol-San Cibrao | 6,571 | −50.4% | 13,244 | 0.1% | Port |
| 21 | Melilla | 4,232 | −15.8% | 5,028 | 0.0% | Port |
| 22 | Huelva | 2,024 | +3.5% | 1,956 | 0.0% | Port |
| 23 | Vilagarcía | 1,375 | −33.8% | 2,076 | 0.0% | Port |
| 24 | Pasaia | 935 | −36.8% | 1,480 | 0.0% | Port |
| 25 | Castellón | 170 | −73.1% | 633 | 0.0% | Port |
| 26 | Bahía de Algeciras | 24 | — | — | 0.0% | Port |
| 27 | Avilés | 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 2023?
Barcelona, with 3.57 million cruise passengers in 2023, 29.7% of the total.
What was the cruise passenger traffic figure for Spanish ports in 2023?
12 million cruise passengers in 2023, 46.9% more than in 2022.
Was 2023 a record year?
At the time, yes: at the end of 2023, 12 million cruise passengers was the highest annual figure in the series, which starts in 2012. It was later exceeded in 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.