Greece and Italy are the leaders in maritime passenger transport for 2023, according to passenger traffic data published by Eurostat.
Comparing 2023 with 2022, the number of passengers in maritime transport increased in 16 of the 21 EU countries.
The largest increases in passengers were recorded in Italy (6.5 million), Greece (4.8 million) and France (3.2 million).
Messina in Italy was the busiest passenger port in the EU, with 11.3 million passengers, followed by Reggio di Calabria in Italy with 11.1 million passengers and Piraeus with 9.6 million.
The numbers
In total, 395.3 million passengers were handled in EU ports in 2023, an increase of 5.8% compared to 2022 (374 million).
However, the number of passengers was 5.5% lower than pre-COVID levels in 2019.
In 2023, 11 EU countries, with over 10 million passengers each, accounted for 97% of all maritime passenger transport in the EU.
Overall, Italian ports recorded the highest number of passengers: 85.4 million (22% of the EU total).
This was followed by Greek ports, with 75 million passengers (19% of the EU total) and Denmark with 41.2 million passengers (10%).
Combining passengers embarking and disembarking at the ports of Italy, Greece and Denmark, the total passenger traffic represented over 51% of all passengers using EU ports in 2023.
These three countries are followed by Croatia (33.8 million passengers in 2023), Spain (31.7 million), Germany (28.5 million), Sweden (24.9 million), France (22.2 million), Malta (14.6 million), Finland (14.2 million) and Estonia (12.9 million).
Comparing 2023 with 2022, the number of maritime transport passengers increased in 16 out of 21 EU countries.
Compared to 2019, only 3 of the top 10 EU ports recorded an increase in the number of passengers: Palma de Mallorca in Spain (+0.4 million), Reggio di Calabria in Italy and Piraeus in Greece (+0.2 million).
Recovery
After a downward trend in passengers between 2008 and 2014, with the exception of 2013 (+0.3% compared to 2012), the total number of passengers embarking or disembarking at European ports has recovered over the last 5 years, reaching a peak in 2019, with 418 million passengers (+2.2% in 2019 compared to 2008, the year of the previous peak).
As a result of the strict preventive measures taken due to the COVID-19 pandemic, maritime passenger transport almost halved in 2020, compared to 2019 (-45%).
The number of passengers passing through EU ports reached its lowest point (230 million) in 2020.
A partial recovery was recorded in 2021 and 2022, with successive increases of 16.4% and 39.5% respectively.
In 2023, 395.3 million passengers were recorded at EU ports, a number that is still below the corresponding number before the pandemic.
