MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ushuaia had an excellent cruise season and expects better in 2024/25

A busy tourist day in the Ushuaia port. Tierra del Fuego reported some 570 cruise calls, in the 2023/24 season

With the cruise 2023/24 season technically over in Tierra del Fuego, the head of provincial ports, Roberto Murcia said it had been a very positive year and anticipated an even more promising season 2024/25 for Ushuaia with more vessels interested in the Antarctica tours.

“We are expecting more cruise calls for next season, and with the current one over, we have time to begin planning short and long term. We word with three years anticipation and we already have 542 calls requested, with time until next September”, explained Murcia.

This season Ushuaia reported some 570 cruise calls, and the “season really finalizes in September, when the next one begins”.

“Several companies are incorporating a new generation of vessels, the bi-oceanic, which we will be sharing with Chile, Peru, Uruguay and Brazil. Besides they are larger and we have to extend the jetties since many are over a hundred meters longer than usual, so we also have to think in expanding our infrastructure”.

Murcia said that the passengers terminal as well as docking space are almost finished, and we are in the process of finalizing the cargo jetty. He also mentioned that a Japanese agency has confirmed that they will be calling at Ushuaia as the beginning post of a South American tour before returning to the Far East. We consider this a great honor and recognition“.

”We are also very encouraged since such a high number transit of vessels confirms that Ushuaia has become the main access to Antarctica cruise tours, a tourism tendency which keeps growing and keeps pumping foreign currency to our local economy”.