According to the Ports of the Azores, passenger numbers are to increase by 28 percent and the number of scheduled stops in the islands is to rise by 25 percent
In a press release, the port authority said that “around 177 calls of ships from various significant international operators” are planned for this year in the archipelago’s ports while in 2019, the region received 142 calls, representing a 25 percent increase.
As for passengers, it is expected that in 2020, around 190,000 cruise ship tourists will pass through the region, 28 percent mo-re than the 160,000 seen the previous year.
The company that manages the port structures in the Azores also pointed out that there will be inaugural calls of several ships on several islands, pointing to “the growth in the number of calls at the islands of Pico, Graciosa, São Jorge and Santa Maria”.