At first glance, amid reports of border gridlock, disputes over fuel supplies (bunkering) and the perennial geopolitical tension at the border fence with the United Kingdom, anyone might think this was an off-season April Fools’ joke. But no—the reality surpasses maritime fiction: the Rock of Gibraltar has emerged as a finalist for the coveted 2026 Destination of the Year award at the Seatrade Cruise Awards, the summit of cruise tourism diplomacy and logistics held, and paid for, by Las Palmas. The Canary Islands are paying to promote their competitor, as they already did with Petrospot in the field of bunkering. It is being held in Las Palmas; nothing is known about the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The official announcement, issued by the Gibraltar Tourist Board (GTB) under the authority of the colony’s Ministry of Tourism, leaves no room for doubt. The Rock will contest the title on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, in one of the most paradoxical settings imaginable: the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which will host the awards ceremony during the renowned Seatrade Cruise Med trade fair.
Madeira has once again been nominated for the World Cruise Awards, marking the fifth consecutive year in which the destination has received recognition from this prestigious international awards program—another competitor, but one that is part of the alliance in Macaronesia. After winning Europe’s Best Cruise Destination in 2022, 2023 and 2025, and being named the World’s Best Sustainable Cruise Terminal in 2024, Madeira is once again a finalist in both categories. Voting is free and open to the public, and is conducted online through the World Cruise Awards website until August 21.
There’s more
In the category of Europe’s Best Cruise Destination, Madeira is competing alongside Athens (Greece), Barcelona (Spain), Dubrovnik (Croatia), Kotor (Montenegro), Lisbon (Portugal), Monte Carlo (Monaco), Nice (France), Oslo (Norway), Rome (Italy) and Southampton (England). The port of Funchal is competing for the title of World’s Best Sustainable Cruise Terminal, alongside the cruise terminals of Steinwerder (Germany), Flåm (Norway), Kai Tak (Hong Kong), Montreal (Canada), Copenhagen (Denmark), Kiel (Germany), Valletta (Malta) and Victoria (Canada). Global Ports Holding, the Turkish company that manages Las Palmas’ cruise business, is receiving the funding for the event.
The jury evaluates everything from the integration of tourist flows into the local economy to the operational efficiency offered to the giants of the seas. To win over the committee, the Gibraltarian administration has submitted a detailed technical report highlighting its management record. In contrast with the usual scenes of overcrowding, the Rock says it has designed a strategy to channel thousands of cruise passengers smoothly toward Main Street, boosting local hospitality businesses and retailers.
Among the strengths highlighted are the renovation of the historic heritage, local art exhibitions in the Cruise Terminal itself, street entertainment provided by the Historical Re-enactment Association and tailor-made excursions to St. Michael’s Cave. Gibraltar’s Tourism Minister, Christian Santos, is celebrating the nomination as definitive proof that his strategy is working, raising the morale of a sector that continues to collect accolades following its recent nominations for the Travel Weekly Globe Awards and the TTG Travel Industry Awards. We will have to wait until September at the port in Gran Canaria to see whether the Rock takes the international crown; for now, the only certainty is that this is no joke and that Gibraltar is seeking to reinvent itself, monkey by monkey, as the great jewel of cruise tourism.
The article No joke: Gibraltar nominated for ‘Destination of the Year’ at Seatrade Cruise in the port of Las Palmas was first published on canarymaritime.com.
