Ferry traffic in North Tyrrhenian ports is back on course again. If 2020 was characterized by the pandemic crisis, with a major downturn in almost all types of traffic and the zeroing of cruise traffic from March, the first eight months of 2021 have instead seen Livorno and Piombino register encouraging signs of growth in their island link services. And not only.
1.556 million. That’s how many people transited through the port of Livorno between January and August. 30.6% more than those who boarded and disembarked from ferries departing and arriving at the port in 2020.
Meanwhile, in Piombino, over 2 million people arrived and departed, 27.4% more than the 1.6 million in the same period in 2020.
Elba island turned out to be the top destination of the overall traffic flow recorded between January and August: 1.926 million passengers departed or arrived from Portoferraio, Cavo and Rio Marina. This represents a 26.4% increase compared to the same period in 2020, with almost 403 thousand units more.
The figures recorded in the first eight months of the year are the first indication of a trend reversal in the cruise sector. After months of zero traffic, in August the port of Livorno saw 2,321 passengers transit from its quays, with three vessel berths. In the same month, two cruise ships called at Portoferraio.
“Going from 2.8 to 3.6 million passengers means a 28.7% increase overall compared to the pandemic year,” said President Guerrieri. “We have not returned to the 2019 levels but the figures demonstrate the vitality of this traffic and the strategic role that Livorno and Piombino have in the Mediterranean.”
“In short, we are ready for a major recovery and we hope that these first signs of a trend reversal in the cruise traffic can be seen as the beginning of a new start. We will watch traffic and booking trends very carefully” he concluded.
Translation by Giles Foster
