Fair visit aims to boost results

MALAGA city port is aiming to promote itself as the ideal base port for cruises at Seatrade Europe, the main cruise fair on the continent which begins on Wednesday September 9 in Hamburg, Germany.

Coinciding with the start of the high season for cruises, the Costa del Sol capital’s port management will be running a stand at the fair in an endeavour to improve results even more for the coming years.

October is expected to be the second busiest month of the year for cruise visits to the city, with the most visitors (more than 13,200) expected to arrive on October 27 when the port will be dominated by the giant Allure of the Seas.

Altogether 39 ships carrying up to 82,179 passengers are due into port during the month, close behind April when a total of 41 docked.

Data presented recently by Port Authority President Paulino Plata revealed that during the first half of this year (which included the quietest months for cruises), the number of passengers surpassed 184,000, almost 10 per cent more than the same period in 2014.