Coastal shipping: Fire in ticket prices

Her Anastasia Vamvaka

The cost of transportation to and from the island of Greece is expected to skyrocket, with market circles initially talking about an already 10% burden on the transport costs of trucks on the lines of Crete and the Adriatic. These large increases will certainly be reflected in the cost of tickets, something that will be perceived by the passenger public from Easter onwards, when travel will begin to increase.

Even the issue of sustainability seems to be creating the price rally in oil, especially for the weakest small Greek shipping companies, with the increase in fuel costs, which from $ 500 a ton a year ago reached $ 900 at the end of the week. The issue is also crucial for fast-moving companies as the marine diesel they burn has exceeded $ 1,000 a tonne. This is why there is concern, in the various scenarios that say that some of the speedboats will remain tied to the ropes in the port of Rafina and Piraeus, at Easter, as a measure to manage the more than doubling of transport costs. However, the doubling of ticket prices would be / is ineffective as well as the transportation costs would not be offset but would also act as a deterrent to competition with airlines and domestic tourism, which last year gave a breath to the market. Although the market is “watching” Easter, the snow-covered March in the islands can not “moor” the ships at this time or reduce the already reduced itineraries as the basics for connecting the islands in winter with mainland Greece are performed.

“The energy crisis plaguing the world is affecting passenger shipping more than any other sector of the economy. We estimate that about 40% of the net fares we receive are currently being spent to cover fuel costs, while in 2021 alone we estimate Our companies have been burdened with € 130 million due to a 45% increase in fuel costs. about the effects that the energy crisis may have on our islands, their inhabitants and their tourism, which hosts 70% of tourism in Greece “said Michalis Sakellis, President of the Association of Passenger Shipping Companies at the recent meeting.

Solutions

The outgoing increases, which will be visible to passengers as early as Easter, have also occupied the offices of the Ministry of Shipping, which are looking for solutions so that small companies do not leave lines and ticket prices do not derail, as part of the general treatment plan. of energy costs. According to travel agencies, some of the companies have already increased the price of the ticket by 5%, as a “principle” as they say, since this increase can not cover the huge jump in transport costs.

The ferry companies are also looking for solutions, which, in addition to the increases in ticket prices, have started the discussions for changes in the itineraries again. The combination of itineraries, the “radial” itineraries where the large ships will serve the crowded lines and the smaller ones will make the intermediate transports seems to have fallen on the table again, along with the reduction of the speed but also of the itineraries.

Tourism

Fears of a major reshuffle due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and maritime tourism are on the market, after the positive results of last year. Companies want to focus both on domestic tourism – where ticket increases are subversive – and international, but global turmoil is always affecting bookings.

“The passenger ferry project in 2021 was increased compared to 2020 but decreased by about 40% compared to 2019. It is encouraging that the summer months of 2021 have shown that tourism has great potential and it is no exaggeration to say that “In July and August, we would have approached the transport project of 2019 if the reduced protocols did not apply,” said Mr. Sakellis.

He continued that for “2022 the prospects are positive and bookings, including these hotels, significantly increased, so we expect a good year for tourism close to 2019 levels for the summer months, while it is certain that there will be improvement and Our goal remains the transport project of 2019 but on an annual basis, which will not happen in 2022. Therefore, we must be cautious and careful in our next steps. they are serviced 12 months a year and even when the ships are stationary the costs remain high at 40% -45% of the total costs “.

However, agencies and hotels are already seeing cancellations in bookings, with March already falling in bookings compared to 2019.