‘Agathi’ for the Greek cruise the insufficient port infrastructures

By George George

Year of significant growth of the cruise in our country will be 2022, according to estimates of people active in the industry, boosted by the signs of recovery that became visible during this tourist season.

“The ships that were active in Greece in 2021 correspond to approximately 50% of the ships that were active in the world cruise” stressed the president of the Association of Cruise Ship Owners and Shipping Agencies (EEKFN), cap. George Koubenas, in the context of the conference “Greek Tourism, a National Cause! Possibilities and Perspectives”.

He attributed this year’s successful, given the difficulties, course of the industry to the targeted and immediate actions of the government to create conditions for safe travel.

“We are able to take advantage of this momentum and see further growth in 2022,” said Mr. Koubenas.

The “thorns”

However, as he said, a key condition for the Greek cruise industry to play a leading role in the global cruise industry is to upgrade the infrastructure.

As he explained, weaknesses are identified that concern either the insufficient infrastructure for the reception of ships and the service of passengers or the fragmented port system with the various forms of port management. “The port must have the same infrastructure as an airport, which is not the case,” Koubenas said.

According to the president of EEKFN, today cruise ships can reach about 47-50 Greek ports, of which few have the necessary infrastructure to receive the maximum benefits from the cruise.

Finally, Mr. Koubenas focused on the need to attract investment, but also on the promotion of regulations in the legislative regime that concerns, among other things, passenger visas.

Starring Thessaloniki

The same discussion was attended by the Executive Chairman of the Board of the Thessaloniki Port Authority, Athanasios Liagos, who spoke about the prospects for the development of the cruise in Northern Greece.

In 2021, as he said, the port of Thessaloniki recorded 17 arrivals of cruise ships, while so far 49 arrivals for 2022 have been confirmed.

In fact, 50-60% of the ships that approached the port this year, used it as a home port, with fullness of up to 80%. “In homeporting, the passenger will spend about four times more than the transit passenger, with multiple benefits for society and the economy,” Liagos said.

Finally, the head of OLTH spoke of a “tourism boom” in 2022 at the international level, noting that the tourism of the future will have digital and “green” characteristics, while special emphasis will be given to the safety factor.

Read also:

Greek-Turkish tourist packages are coming on the cruise