A POST-pandemic cruise ship recovery has seen almost one cruise passenger per Malaga inhabitant enter the city in 2025.
This means that the number of visitors from these ships rivalled the city’s entire population.
Data shared by Malaga Port revealed that it welcomed over 570,000 passengers, a 21.3% increase on the previous year and about 27,000 fewer than the number of citizens registered as living in the city during the most recent census.
This number of passengers is the highest since 2019 with Carlos Rubio, the Port Authority president, describing 2025 as ‘a very good year’ and stating that they ‘have now recovered from the pandemic’.
The port has not only recovered but also seen an increase in traffic in January, December and November, which are usually quiet months.
Last November 12,744 disembarked cruise ships at the port, a record high. February however maintained quiet with just three boats and only just over 2,000 passengers visiting.
Things did pick up by April when over 75,000 visited the city and rose even more in October which saw 87,634 passengers, the highest in the year.
It is these cruise ship passengers that account for almost a quarter of the port’s revenue, making them ‘critical’ for income.
Rubio also mentioned how the port has diversified its income through markets and Muelle 1 and highlighted further ideas to boost revenue.
They hope to become a home port with more cruise lines as recent University of Malaga research ‘demonstrated that passenger spending more than doubles when at a home port’.
Home ports also generate business for a variety of companies, such as hotels, restaurants and shops.
These shopkeepers should, according to the study, focus on shoes because passengers typically value Spanish shoes as they are known for being good quality and cheaper than those in other countries.
Additionally Rubio wants to home in on the city’s premium and luxury sector.
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Echoing Rubio’s enthusiasm for cruise ship passengers is Jacobo Florido, Malaga Ayuntamiento’s Tourism Counsellor, who called their arrival ‘a cause for celebration’.
He has said that he is working with the Port Authority to ‘promote more homeports or luxury cruises’ and highlighted the importance of cruise passengers in contributing to the economy.
While this mode of travel boosts economies, it is often criticised for its effects on the planet.
When asked about the ships’ impact on the environment Rubio said that the cruise industry is ‘at the forefront of technological sustainability, striving to reduce its footprint’.
Currently the focus for ports is electrifying docks so that ships can turn off their engines when in the harbour but this is not yet possible.Â
When at sea Rubio said that ships now tend to be powered by LNG rather than traditional heavy oil fuel.
Refusing to comment on cities known to be overwhelmed by their cruise ship visitors, like Barcelona or Venice, Rubio said that as a whole for Malaga these visitors are well-received and bring ‘positives’.
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