In 2023, the port of Naples recorded a historic record for the number of cruise passengers, with approximately 1 million passengers transiting.
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The figure exceeds the numbers of 2019, the pre-pandemic year, when there were 1 million 340 thousand in the Neapolitan airport.
These numbers were presented at the meeting “Cruises: the success of 2023”, which took place at the Maritime Station.
“The numbers recorded in 2023 constitute a historic record for Naples,” said Tomaso Cognolato, CEO of Terminal Napoli spa. “The city and its port have withstood this strong impact of presences in a very positive way.”
Naples is one of the main destinations sought after by tourists and in the cruise sector it is among the favorite destinations in the Mediterranean. For 2024, despite the difficulties of the geopolitical panorama, a further growth of tourism and the cruise market is estimated.
During 2023, the Neapolitan port recorded 448 cruise ship landings. According to the data, 6 out of 10 cruise passengers return to the cities visited during the navigation and each cruise passenger leaves on average about 110 euros in the territory.
Added to this are the employment implications: in Italy the cruise sector has 120 thousand employees, which constitute about 30 percent of the world's employed. The port of Naples, including direct and indirect workers and induced, employs about 10 thousand people.
“We are seeing an unexpected demand for landings,” said Andrea Annunziata, president of the Central Tyrrhenian Sea Port System Authority. “We thought we would recover from the pre-pandemic situation, but instead we have gone beyond all expectations.”
“We are preparing to launch the master plan for the port of Naples which dates back to 1958, as in other ports in Campania,” added Annunziata. “We need to balance the interests of an entire territory, from pleasure boating to mega yachts, through the additional landings requested for cruise ships and the demand for increasingly high-quality shipbuilding.”
The economic and employment implications
The success of the port of Naples in the cruise sector has important economic and employment implications.
According to the data presented at the meeting “Cruises: the success of 2023”, the economic value of cruise tourism in Naples in 2023 was approximately 1 billion euros.
The average expenditure of cruise passengers is approximately 110 euros per day, of which 60 euros for food, 30 euros for shopping and 20 euros for tourist services.
Cruise tourism also has a significant employment impact. In Naples, between direct and indirect workers and related industries, the cruise sector employs approximately 10 thousand people.
These data confirm the importance of the port of Naples for the economy and employment of the city and the Campania region.
Article published on November 21, 2023 - 07:56
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