More than 25,700 cruise passengers have visited the city of Tangier since the beginning of the year until 8 March, including more than 22,700 people on board the third largest cruise ship in the world "Norwegian Epic", affirmed the provincial delegate for tourism in Tangier, Saïd Abbassi.

Thus, the Tangier-ville port welcomed, last Tuesday, the ship "Norwegian Epic" coming from Barcelona and bound for Las Palmas, with 4,008 cruise passengers of different nationalities on board, notably Germans, Spaniards, Italians, Japanese, French, English and Americans, and 1,713 crew members, and this for the 4th time in three months, the official noted, adding that these passengers will carry out guided tours in the cities of Chefchaouen, Tetouan, Assilah and Tangier.

The Tangier-ville port also recorded, during this period, the docking of 2 other cruise ships among the largest in the world, namely "Costa Mediterranea" and "Norwegian Epic", which has made 4 stopovers since the beginning of the year.

The Tourism delegate recalled that the Tangier-ville port had welcomed, on 16 February, the ship "Norwegian Epic" coming from Barcelona, with 4,138 cruise passengers on board, all nationalities combined, and 1,700 crew members, and this for the 3rd time in two months, which were added to 3,994 tourists and 1,674 crew members, who were on board the same ship, on 26 January.

The city of the Strait had also welcomed, on 7 January, one of the largest cruise ships in the world "Costa Mediterranea", with 2,500 passengers on board, including Germans, Koreans, French and Italians.

On the socio-economic repercussions of cruise tourism, Mr. Abassi assured that the visit of these cruise passengers positively impacts the activity of several vital sectors including transport, handicrafts and the activity of guides, stressing that the exceptional and strategic position of the Tangier-ville port, located at the crossroads of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, allows the city of the Strait to position itself as a flagship destination for cruise and yachting tourism at the national level and in the Mediterranean.

In this context, Mr. Abassi recalled that a reception committee for this cruise, chaired by the Wali of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, Mohamed El Yaakoubi, was set up so that the stay of these cruise passengers in the region takes place in good conditions, in addition to the opening of an information platform, equipped with brochures and geographical maps of the city of the Strait, and the organisation of artistic entertainment activities to highlight the cultural potential of the Kingdom, in general, and of the region, in particular.

He, in this regard, stressed that the arrival of this type of cruise testifies to the confidence that foreign tourists have in the Tangier destination, thanks to the improvement of reception, supervision and assistance, the enhancement of tourist sites in the region and the development of infrastructure linked to cultural and tourist entertainment.

Furthermore, he estimated that with the completion of the work on the Tangier-ville port conversion project, the work on which is at a very advanced stage, the Tangier destination should further strengthen its attractiveness in terms of cruise and yachting tourism.

The conversion project of the Tangier-ville port area offers significant infrastructure dedicated to welcoming the largest cruise ships in the world.

Thus, 3 berths will be dedicated to this activity, the largest of which will be 360 m long, indicates a document from the Tangier-ville Port Development Company (SAPT), noting that the targeted traffic is 300,000 cruise passengers in 2016 and 750,000 in 2020.

The port dimension of this project, which required an investment of 2.18 billion dirhams (MMDH), focuses on the cruise and yachting port, which aims to provide the city of the Strait with the largest marina in the region with 1,300 berths, through the conversion of the current fishing port and the development of a new marina to the East of the current port.