Both the Alicante Association for Cruise Tourism and the Tourist Board are satisfied with the results of the survey carried out last year of more than 2,400 cruise passengers who visited the city.
The majority regard the city as a safe destination, with a good connections between the port and the city and reasonably clean, where the visitor is less critical than the resident. But the survey also notes the demands made by cruise passengers, some of which are in the process of being resolved.
They say there is a need to implement public bathrooms; improvements to the Wi-Fi network, better shaded areas between the port and the city and, above all, more information about museums and commercial areas.
These are the recommendations of tourists in 2024, a year in which it is expected to improve the 2023 figures and achieve revenue of 60 million euros, an increase of almost 25%, with the arrival of 96 ships and 230,000 cruise passengers, according to forecasts.
Another important aspect revealed by the survey is that 94% of those surveyed consider that the city is not ‘overbusy’. According to the data, the visitor profile is that of a 52.6-year-old person, who travels with a family and who stays between 4.5 and 6 hours in the city. They are made up of 50 nationalities, predominantly British, 28%, Americans, 17%, Spanish, 10%, Germans, Italians and Portuguese, each registering 7% of passengers.
The most valued aspects, on a scale from 0 to 5, are: safety (4.6), mobility (4.4), cleanliness of the city (4.4), climate (4.3), beaches (4 ,3), cruise terminal (4.2), gastronomy (4.2), culture (4.1), accessibility (4.0), commerce (3.9) and tourist information (3.2).
Regarding the economic impact, the average spending figures are significant. When it is a stopover, the average spend is 74.66 euros, while if it is a base port with embarkation or disembarkation, it increases to 246 euros with accommodation and greater spending on hospitality and commerce.
One of the aspects that the tourists value is that it is a destination that offers a great deal of variety with many different itineraries. And this is demonstrated by the data on what cruise passengers do once they arrive in the city showing that 36% stay in the city; 21% visit Benidorm: 13%, Guadalest and 11%, Elche.
