In 2026, cruise traffic in the Adriatic is expected to will be a total of about 5.7 million passengers, with an increase of +6% compared to last year sustained mainly from the eastern shore of the Adriatic but still beyond below the record of 2019. Volume of traffic that will be built as part of the approximately 4,000 cruise ship stopovers (+7,7%). The expected traffic of ferries, hydrofoils and catamarans, instead, it will amount to 20.6 million passengers (+2.1%). È what emerges from the new edition of the Adriatic Sea Tourism Report, the research report for sea tourism in the Adriatic created by the research and consulting company Risposte Tourism, which was presented today in Venice by the president Francesco di Cesare.

The report specifies that in the cruise segment the Adriatic, in comparison with the other macro-areas of the Mediterranean, is the only one to have recorded a decrease in traffic in the period 2019-2025, with -8% compared, for example, to +35% in the Western Mediterranean or +83% of the Eastern Mediterranean, A consequence - the report specifies - of the gap between infrastructures and local regulations that do not allow ports to receive larger ships.

In 2026, Italy will be confirmed as the first country of the Adriatic for cruise traffic, with over 2.1 million passengers handled (37.3% of the Adriatic total) and 1,075 approaches. Croatia follows, with 1.61 million passengers expected, and Greece which, for the first time, is expected to exceed one million passengers moved. Albania, while still remaining far from the record levels reached in 2017, will be the country that will record the strongest growth compared to 2025, with an increase of +15.9% in passengers handled and +29.9% of ship calls.

With regard to individual ports, in 2026 Corfu will will confirm for the seventh consecutive year at the top of the ranking, reaching the threshold of one million for the first time of passengers (+11.8% on 2025), thanks to over 560 ship calls (+20.3% on 2025). Behind it, Dubrovnik will maintain the second place with 675 thousand passengers expected (+8%), followed by Kotor which with 615 thousand passengers (+6%) will rise to third place in the ranking. The port of Bari completes the top five positions with 559 thousand passengers expected (+1.5%) and Venice which, according to the estimates by Risposte Turismo, will record a contraction of -9.3% compared to 2025 to about 530 thousand passengers. Among the airports that will record the most growth Bars are important, where they are expected at about the end of 2026 130 thousand passengers (+78.5%) and Ravenna, which should reach 390 thousand cruise passengers (+57.2%)

As regards the ferry, hydrofoil and catamarans, Split will maintain its leadership in the catamaran rankings ports with over 5.2 million passengers handled (+2.5%) ahead of Igoumenitsa with over 3.1 million (+3%) and Zadar with over 2.7 million (+1.4%).