Cruise Industry Helps Tourism To Be Back On Track In Portugal With Record Visits To The Country

LISBON, PORTUGAL - AUGUST 31: A woman jogs by the river as MS Renaissance, a 55,575 GT cruise ship owned and operated by the Compagnie Française de Croisières, sails the Tagus River after leaving Lisbon cruise terminal on August 31, 2024, in Lisbon, Portugal. The Port of Lisbon reached a new record in July 2024, with the highest number of cruise passengers ever for this month. A total of 58,141 passengers, meant a 6% increase on the previous record of 2023, with 54,992 passengers, mainly due to the 35% growth in transit cruise passengers, equivalent to a rise from 39,245 to 52,797 tourists in this category between 2023 and 2024. According to an economic impact study promoted by the Port of Lisbon Administration, cruise activity had a direct economic impact on the city of more than 83 million euros, considering the 102,680 passengers who embarked and the 554,324 who were in transit, for an embarked passenger spends an average of 367 euros and a passenger in transit 82 euros. Tourism generated 25 billion euros in Portugal during 2023, the best year ever for the country. (Photo by Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)