Santa Cruz de Tenerife’s cruise business continues to grow, with more than 704,000 cruise passengers passing through the port between January and September 2026. That’s a 5.3% increase on the same period last year.
The port is also strengthening its position as a starting and finishing point for cruise holidays, rather than simply somewhere ships stop for a few hours.
During the first nine months of the year, 325,051 passengers used Santa Cruz as their home port, an increase of 42,244 compared with the same period in 2025. That represents growth of around 15%.
The port recorded 243 cruise ship calls, up 2.53% year on year.
Tenerife becomes a starting point for cruise holidays
During the 2025-2026 season, eight major cruise operators, including TUI, Aida Cruises, P&O, MSC and Costa Cruises, used Santa Cruz as a base. A further ten ships operated regular routes from the port.
For Tenerife, this brings benefits beyond the cruise terminals themselves. Passengers starting or finishing their holidays here also need flights, hotels, restaurants and transport, helping connect cruise tourism with the wider visitor economy.
The Port Authority points to Tenerife’s two airports and its established tourism infrastructure as important advantages for cruise companies choosing where to base their ships.
More than 2.18 million passengers overall
Cruise passengers were part of a much larger flow of people through the port. Including almost 1.5 million other passenger movements, Santa Cruz handled a total of 2.18 million passengers between January and September.
That accounted for 37% of the 5.89 million passenger movements recorded across the province’s ports during the same period.
Fuel supplies also see a sharp rise
Cruise ships aren’t the only activity keeping the port busy. Ship supplies reached almost 700,000 tonnes during the first nine months of 2026, an increase of 37.45% compared with the previous year.
Fuel supplies recorded the biggest jump, rising by 41.5%.
The figures underline the port’s growing role in both tourism and maritime services, with Santa Cruz continuing to attract cruise operators while handling the practical business of keeping ships moving.