It was the best first quarter ever. In the first three months of this year, the Port of Funchal received 266,964 passengers in a total of 105 cruise ship calls. This represents a 19.64% increase in passenger volume and a 36.36% increase in cruise ship calls, compared to the same period last year, according to data released today by APRAM – the Autonomous Region’s Port Authority.
During this period, 92,903 crew members also passed through the Port of Funchal. This is 26.32% more than the number recorded in the first three months of last year: 73,541. All things considered, and based on a study carried out by the Commercial and Industrial Association of Funchal, which estimates an average cost of €61.40 per passenger/crew member on a cruise ship, this first quarter generated a direct impact of over €22 million on the regional economy.
These figures please the president of the Port Authority of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (APRAM, SA), Paula Cabaço. “These are very important figures for the Region, and are the result of the work that has been carried out by the Ports of Madeira together with our partners: companies, shipping agents and tour operators”, she summarises, adding that this “sustainable growth” also reveals the interest of the cruise industry in Madeira.
“The way we have grown in terms of stopovers and passengers shows that the Region is an important asset for a competitive and global sector such as cruises”, highlights Paula Cabaço.
If 2024, which had already been the best year ever for cruise tourism in Madeira, began with 223,144 passengers and 77 stopovers, this first quarter leaves good indications for the results of 2025. In recent years, with the exception of 2019, 2020 and 2021, in which the pandemic affected the industry, Madeira has been growing in terms of passengers and stopovers.
In 2022, the first quarter of the post-COVID recovery, Madeira’s ports received 95 cruise ship calls, which transported 95,618 passengers and 67,798 crew members. The following year, in 2023, the first quarter closed with 94 calls, 230,582 passengers and 86,115 crew members.