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Malaga port is expecting a huge increase in luxury cruises arriving this year

In 2018 these figures are expected to be repeated with the added prospect of an increase in business from luxury cruise companies

PILAR MARTÍNEZ

Friday, 5 January 2018, 10:37

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Malaga Port Authority president, Paulino Plata, told a press conference this week that in 2017 the port had seen a huge increase in travellers (over half a million) and a bigger increase in visits by cruise liners than any other Spanish port. In 2018 these figures are expected to be repeated with the added prospect of an increase in business from luxury cruise companies.

Visits by cruise ships have increased 15 per cent and of the 300 cruises we are expecting this year, 133 will be luxury vessels and 147 standard ships. We also have 17 ships that intend to stay overnight, including The World, belonging to a community of millionaires, which will be docking at Malaga from the 15 - 17 April, he explained.

Besides this, 2018 will see an increase of visits by cruise ships owned by the German companies Aida and TUI, which came to the port 25 times in 2017 and are planning to visit 42 times this year.

Also, the biggest cruise liner in the world Symphony of the Seas belonging to Royal Caribbean, will be making the first of two visits to the Costa del Sol this year.

A new initiative for 2018 is a small but luxurious cruise that will visit the Andalusian ports and also installations in Portugal. This is an initiative which will promote destinations in Andalucía and with the possibility of extending the service if it becomes a success, added Plata.

The number of cruises that started and finished in Malaga has also increased. Of the 510,000 travellers, 138,083 were based in Malaga.

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