A record number of cruise ships visited Lisbon in 2017, according to the Port of Lisbon.
A total of 123 cruise ships docked in the capital of Portugal over the course of last year, beating the previous largest number of 120 that were registered in 2013. The number of cruise passengers coming to port of Lisbon totaled 521,042 which is a marginal (0.3%) year-on-year fall that reflects an industry-wide reduction in cruise ship capacity.
This statistics complete the successful year for the port, with a new cruise terminal having opened in November.
2018 prospects are also bright. Port of Lisbon will host Seatrade Cruise Med, the leading trade event of cruise industry for the Mediterranean, in September and will probably see traffic increase as a consequence.
Portugal's capital is an increasingly popular port of call for cruise ships sailing from northern Europe to the Mediterranean, Atlantic islands, Africa, or crossing the Atlantic.
However, Lisbon still lags far behind Europe's busiest cruise port, Barcelona, with an average of 2.6 million cruise passengers per year.