Matosinhos

A new cruise terminal. Challenges and opportunities to the surrounding area and the Northern Portugal, in the metropolitan area of Porto with a population of 169 104 (2006).

Situated on the Atlantic coastal strip, Matosinhos is the 8th most populated municipality in the country (third in the metropolitan area), concentrating 11% of the metropolitan population in 3,9% of the surface area of the metropolitan region. The municipality grew from 25 to 169 thousand inhabitants, from 1900 till 2006.The main problem of Matosinhos is the lack of attractive tourist places for the cruise passengers who ignore and “jump” the city in favour of Porto and other regional places. So the challenge is to up-grade the attractiveness of the city through the revitalization of the commercial infrastructure and restaurants, and the creation of cultural facilities and urban services in the deprived areas.
The Port of Leixões comprises the largest seaport infrastructure in the North of Portugal and one of the most important in the country. Leixões has excellent road, rail and maritime accesses and is equipped with advanced information systems for vessel traffic control and management.Since its inauguration (1892), the Port of Leixões has left its mark on the development of the municipality of Matosinhos. A multitude of interactions have been, and in fact still are, reflected in local land, economy and society. The intensity of the relationship between port and city areas has given rise to decisive moments which have greatly contributed to the economic and social development that both areas have experienced throughout their common history.

Main interests concern:

- Learning how to strengthen the port-city relationships through the building of a cruise terminal

- Developing a network of relationships with the partners of CTUR in order to improve the cruise business and its hinterland interactions

- Debating about better strategies to elaborate port projects with a strong urban integration and development potential

- Encouraging the identification of Matosinhos as a tourist place

Its Port, Leixoes, have an impact in the following data:

Number of people in employment: 78 877 (2001)
Unemployment rate: 8 % (2001)
Income per capita: tbcThe portRanking: international - second port of Portugal
Administrative statutes : State port managed by a Private limited Co.
Total traffic: 15 m. G.T. (2007)
Container traffic (EVP): 433 437 m. TEU (2007)
Total passengers: 15 863 pax (2007)
Cruise passengers: 15 863 pax (2007)
Direct employment: 5 800
Indirect and induced employment : 9 200