The port of Arrecife has surpassed the figure of more than 403,000 cruise passengers in the first six months of this 2026, marking a record figure that contributes to the Port Authority of Las Palmas more than 30% in its turnover from income in its tourist billing.
According to official statistics from the Port Authority of Las Palmas (APLP) released this Tuesday, the capital of Lanzarote received between January and June 403,144 passengers, with an increase of 16%. The rise in this first semester of 2026 accounted for 55,614 more, compared to the same period last year 2025.
With this boost from Arrecife, the capital of Lanzarote contributes more than 30% of the income of Puertos de las Palmas from the activity of tourist ships. The set of the three state ports in the province of Las Palmas, dedicated to cruise activity, reached a figure of 1,300,770 passengers, with only a rise of 9.63%, while in the same period, Arrecife surpassed 16% with its 403,144 passengers.
The mayor of Arrecife, Yonathan de León, has highlighted that this important increase "reflects that the actions promoted by the Arrecife City Council to turn Arrecife into a home port are bearing good fruit, together with the high interest that shipping companies have in the city as a stopover or base for their circuits through the Canary Islands and the coast of Africa".
For the mayor of the capital of Lanzarote, the contribution of the ports of Arrecife to the turnover of the Port Authority "is not matched by investments for improvements or expansions of the port facilities". Yonathan de León demands that the investments by the Port Authority in Arrecife "must reflect our great weight in the port economy, and the allocated amounts discriminate against Lanzarote, as revealed by the Business Plan of Puertos de Las Palmas for 2027, where Arrecife continues to be discriminated against in investments".
The mayor demands that, just as the Port Authority of Las Palmas carries out works in Gran Canaria, "it should do so in our capital where 20% of our maritime front is a state port zone, attached to the Port Authority of Las Palmas".
According to the Business Plan 2027 of the Port Authority of Las Palmas, "of the 230 million in works for the ports of Las Palmas, barely a little more than two million euros are allocated to Arrecife, while in Gran Canaria 131 million euros are allocated to expand docks and gain berthing line, and improve bunkering service, with 55% of the total investments planned for 2027".