PORT OF TARANTO, 21 OCTOBER 2024 - With the "Island Sky", belonging to the fleet of the Noble Caledonia British company, Taranto closed the 2024 cruise season, which, once again this year, recorded a positive balance with numbers that look optimistically towards the next cruise season.
On last 9 October, the port of Taranto welcomed the last call of the year, bidding farewell to a growing season that, since last April, has marked 45 calls (including the technical call of MSC Splendida last 14 September) with 139,511 passengers (+0.7 compared to 2023) from all over the world: these are numbers demonstrating a continuous growth of the national cruise sector, which this year will hit record figures, with growth forecasts also in 2025.
The year 2024 brought to Taranto 8 cruise companies, which sailed our seas between April and October: among them, cruise lines that consolidated over time their presence in the destination - Marella Cruises, P&O Cruises, Noble Caledonia, TUI - and new entries, such as Oceania Cruises, Azamara Cruises, and the extra-luxury Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection.
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A new, important year also with Costa Crociere, the flagship company that strengthened the partnership started in 2023 with the port of Taranto, confirming the port of call as a turn-around of the Costa Fascinosa's itinerary dedicated to the wonders of the Eastern Mediterranean. Among the most significant novelties of the just-ended season, there is certainly the one recorded on 30 June when, with the double docking of TUI's Mein Schiff 5 and Costa Fascinosa, the San Cataldo Pier in the port of Taranto welcomed, for the first time ever, a simultaneous berthing of two big cruise ships.
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The fruitful cooperation between the main institutional stakeholders, the port operators and the Municipal Administration has made it possible, within their respective areas of competence, to ensure the deployment of efficient services, made also possible thanks to the contribution of the Taranto Cruise Port with regard, in particular, to the embarkation and disembarkation procedures for cruise passengers. The numbers and results achieved in the season now behind us are, in fact, the result of collaborative work between the port and the city.
With the growing interest of new international companies - also from the luxury segment - Taranto's port of call can boast of having achieved a position in the Eastern Mediterranean as an alternative destination to the most popular ones, becoming the centre of a supply chain that includes, among other things, high tourist prevalence activities (tour operators dedicated exclusively to the cruise sector, tourist guides).
Finally, it is important to highlight the positive impact recorded from passenger feedback who came to Taranto: many expressed great appreciation for the immersive experiences in the Ionian capital, praising the natural and cultural heritage offered by the port city of Taranto, which enchanted thousands of passengers from all over the world. Cruisers and crew members were introduced to the city's history and its Magna Graecia charm, visiting the city's most iconic sites (including the picturesque Old Town, the National Archaeological Museum (MArTA) and the imposing Aragonese Castle) which hold countless beauties and the unmistakable folklore that makes the land of Apulia stand out in the world.
Looking ahead to 2025, the Taranto destination will be called upon to further raise the bar in terms of quality and efficiency and, in general, in the hospitality culture, starting from the awareness that, thanks to a shared governance, the cruise segment can represent an extension of the port and the city, to the benefit of its future development.