Vigo exceeds 100 transatlantic stopovers for the first time in its history in 2008
115 cruise liner moorings confirmed for 2008, bringing some 200,000 tourists to the port Wind in the sails – full speed ahead! The Port of Vigo is confidently sailing towards a new record. All forecasts point to this year easily breaking the barrier of 100 transatlantic stopovers – a figure which has yet to be reached (2006 closed one short with 99, with 94 visits in 2007). There are currently 115 cruise liner moorings confirmed, meaning that only a last minute hitch will prevent this landmark figure from being reached.
So stopovers are set to increase, and with them, the number of tourists will also multiply. The Port of Vigo is confident that upwards of 200,000 visitors will come ashore throughout 2008 – a figure that, along with stopovers exceeding one hundred, would situate Vigo among the three most important Spanish mainland ports in terms of cruise liner traffic.
Last year closed with a total of 150,721 tourists stepping ashore from one the vast floating edifices that had moored in the city’s port - 30,000 more than two years ago. Whilst it is true to say that in 2007 less boats stopped over than in 2006, it should be pointed out that those that did moor up overnight were somewhat larger.
The decrease in the number of stopovers from 2006 to 2007 was in the main due to the cancellation of the Athena and Van Gogh cruise programmes, chartered by the British travel agents Travelscope, who had just announced their bankruptcy – an unforeseeable setback which meant that the port of Vigo hosted nine less stopovers than expected. Even in spite of this, the city is still the leading transatlantic port on Spain’s northern coast.
One of the landmarks of 2007 was the arrival of one the largest cruise liners in the world. The Navigator of the Seas – which actually moored in the port eleven times –. (Source: Faro de Vigo).
So stopovers are set to increase, and with them, the number of tourists will also multiply. The Port of Vigo is confident that upwards of 200,000 visitors will come ashore throughout 2008 – a figure that, along with stopovers exceeding one hundred, would situate Vigo among the three most important Spanish mainland ports in terms of cruise liner traffic.
Last year closed with a total of 150,721 tourists stepping ashore from one the vast floating edifices that had moored in the city’s port - 30,000 more than two years ago. Whilst it is true to say that in 2007 less boats stopped over than in 2006, it should be pointed out that those that did moor up overnight were somewhat larger.
The decrease in the number of stopovers from 2006 to 2007 was in the main due to the cancellation of the Athena and Van Gogh cruise programmes, chartered by the British travel agents Travelscope, who had just announced their bankruptcy – an unforeseeable setback which meant that the port of Vigo hosted nine less stopovers than expected. Even in spite of this, the city is still the leading transatlantic port on Spain’s northern coast.
One of the landmarks of 2007 was the arrival of one the largest cruise liners in the world. The Navigator of the Seas – which actually moored in the port eleven times –. (Source: Faro de Vigo).