Cruise Atlantic Islands (CAI) closed 2025 with a record 4,708,190 cruise passengers, the highest volume since the organization’s statistical series started in 1994, the association said in a statement.

This number represents a 12.64% increase compared to 2024, when 4,179,673 passengers were recorded.

“These figures confirm the excellent momentum currently experienced by the Atlantic island ports and reflect the coordinated work carried out by the port authorities that make up CAI,” said Beatriz Calzada, president of CAI and president of the Port Authority of Las Palmas.

“Alignment in promotion, planning and operational standards enables us to offer cruise lines a strong, complementary and increasingly competitive destination in the Atlantic.”

CAI is an international association bringing together the main port authorities of Macaronesia, i.e. the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands (Las Palmas and Tenerife) and Cape Verde.

The Port Authority of Las Palmas saw the biggest influx of passengers, followed by the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and the Port Authority of Madeira.

In numbers of cruise passengers, this amounted to:

• Port Authority of Las Palmas – 2,080,042 (44.3%)
• Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife – 1,616,490 (34.3%)
• Port Authority of Madeira – 746,257 (15.8%)
• Port Authority of the Azores – 157,685 (3.3%)
• Port Authority of Cape Verde – 98,716 (2.1%).

 

At port level, Santa Cruz de Tenerife topped CAI traffic in 2025 with 1,126,092 passengers, followed by the Port of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria with 994,954 and Funchal in Madeira with 744,699.

The port association grew by 12.64% year-on-year, consolidating the ports of Las Palmas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Funchal as the three main drivers of passenger traffic.

The 2025 volume also exceeded pre-pandemic 2019 levels by 46.99%, which CAI says confirms the recovery of the Atlantic destination’s growth cycle.