PORT OF LISBOA WELCOMES MORE THAN HALF A MILLION PASSENGERS

The Port of Lisboa has achieved record growth in the cruise business in 2011 with a total of 502,644 passengers and 330 cruise calls, for the first time surpassing the half a million passengers barrier.

This growing demand for Lisboa by tour operators to make stopovers in its port is a clear sign of Lisboa's popularity in this market segment and the increase in cruise tourism starting from Portugal.

These figures reflect a growth of 12% in terms of passenger numbers and 10% in terms of stopovers, compared with 2010.

Regarding stopovers, it is worth noting the 10% increases in the transit segment and 30% in cruise calls regarded as partial turnarounds. In the turnaround cruise calls, Lisboa is included in the ship's itinerary as a transit port offering the possibility of loading and / or unloading passengers, who thus have the opportunity to visit the city.

It should also be noted that in 2011, the port of Lisboa welcomed 15 ships, four of which were new ships, that is departing from their dockyards during 2011, which reinforces the increasing importance that the Port of Lisboa has been making for its inclusion in the new fleet routes of different operators.

It is worth highlighting that the Portuguese capital was distinguished as having the "Best International Cruise Port" during the 2nd edition of the "Cruise Excellence" awards for the Atlantic / Northern Europe region, promoted by Cruise News Media Group in August 2011