‘MSC Divina’, ‘MSC Grandiosa’ and ‘Azamara’ complete Pontinha this Saturday, November 11th.
“The Port of Funchal is today a good example of how important cruise tourism is for the regional economy”. It was in this way that the president of the board of directors of APRAM – Portos da Madeira, Paula Cabaço, summarized the presence of two MSC cruise ships (‘Divina’ and ‘Grandiosa’), the last one on an inaugural call, today in Pontinha, and the presence of ‘Azamara’, aimed at the luxury segment, also enters the equation.
Of the three ships, in terms of movement, the Port of Funchal currently has 10 thousand passengers and crew. “We are disembarking around 800 people”, he observed, remembering that in terms of boarding there are 609 registered, as noted by JM, here .
On ‘MSC Grandiosa’ alone, 198 people boarded.
Paula Cabaço recalled that those who disembark at the Port of Funchal, the final destination of their trip, will probably “continue in the city and in Madeira for a few more days, as those who embarked today probably also came by plane before and stayed longer in the city”.
“This, for us, is very important from an economic point of view, in addition to all the movement it generates from the point of view of transfers between the airport and the port”.
More than 200 vehicles
“There is another very important aspect here that reflects this economic importance of the industry: we have more than 200 vehicles circulating within the port, including buses, taxis, tourist vehicles, private vehicles, which come to pick up their passengers who have disembarked, or come by their family members, who are about to board. This also reveals the importance that this type of tourism has for excursion visits, for tourist visits”.
‘Divina’ refueled in Funchal
Cementing the position founded by Paula Cabaço, is the reference that the ‘MSC Divina’, which is heading to Málaga this afternoon, was fueled in Funchal.
“The ‘Divina’ has seven containers that are being filled at the Port of Funchal. A good element for our economy in terms of products”, concluded the person in charge.