25/10/2013 00:00
TW
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By Humphrey Carter

PALMA
THE Port of Palma may well have already broken last year's total record for cruise passengers during the first nine months of this year but next year, according to cruise industry experts at the ABTA convention which is currently taking place in Malta, next year should be even better for Palma and the Balearics' cruise industry in general.

During the first nine months of this year, Palma has handled 1, 072'473 cruise passengers, well above the 1'056'215 handled last year and the port expects to end the year with 30 percent year-on-year growth.

The port authority has also forecast that Palma will, for the first time ever, breach the 500 visits by cruise ships. A total of 533 liners are expected to have put into Palma come the end of this year compared to the total 470 which visited the capital last year. According to the tour operators, cruise lines and travel agencies, the driving force behind the continued growth in cruise traffic and passengers numbers has been the port authority which has continued to improve working relations with the cruise lines and also improve facilities and services in the port.

However, the latest reports from the Association of British Travel Agents convention is that UK cruise passengers numbers are going to hit a record high next year and the Balearics will be one of the main beneficiaries of the increase because of the new super liners which are going to be operating out of Palma next year for the world's leading cruise lines.

Around 1.77 million people in the UK are expected to take a cruise next year, new figures from the Passenger Shipping Association show.
It said the UK ocean cruise market would buck the trend with a record number of passengers predicted for 2011, up 8% on this year's figure of 1.64 million passengers.

For the first time, the number of UK fly cruise passengers, and this is very important for the Balearics, is also set to exceed one million with a 2011 forecast of 1'060'000 - up 75'000 on this year's figure. The number of British passengers joining their ship in a UK port next year is also expected to rise by 55'000 to 710'000.

William Gibbons of the Passenger Shipping Association said next year's additional 130'000 cruise passengers reflected strong performances from the major UK cruise lines, coupled with additional capacity that has come on stream this year.

The luxury cruise sector is also expected to continue to thrive, with new ships now in service and signs that strong growth will be maintained. “2010 has been a unique year; we have seen many new ship launches and this increased capacity will have a full year effect in 2011,” Gibbons said. “Cruising is again likely to outperform all other areas of the holiday market with travel agents continuing to play an integral role, accounting for 80% of cruise sales,” he added