By George Georgiou

 

More than 5 million cruise passengers are expected at Greek ports this year, close to pre-pandemic levels.

 

“The forecast for this year is 5.06 million cruise passenger arrivals in Greek ports. A much improved number compared with last year, but about 500,000 down compared with the record year of 2019, when 5.55 million passengers arrived at Greek ports,” the director of Majestic Cruises and honorary president of the Union of Cruise Ship Owners and Shipping Agencies, Theodore Kontes, pointed out to the Greek newspaper “Naftemporiki”.  Kontes did not rule out further improvement by the end of the year.

 

“Cruise, as expected, shows an improved picture compared to 2022, but we are still far from reaching the performance of 2019 (a record year) in terms of visitor numbers,” he said.

 

In relation to the pre-pandemic situation, a change has been observed in the profile of the fleet of cruise ships sailing in Greece.

 

Especially for 2022, Kontes pointed out that “we have noticed the change in the tonnage of ships with the increase in small/medium ships and a decrease in mega cruisers and more specifically, expedition, luxury ships, cruising ships and mega yachting plans.”

 

At the same time, Greece once again ranks first among the main competitors in yachting this summer, attracting tourists from all the main, but also from alternative and emerging markets.

 

According to data shared with “Naftemporiki” by shipping portal MarineTraffic, a total of 2,651 yachts of 24 meters and above arrived at domestic destinations from May 1 to July 15, 2023. The Greek market not only increased its shares compared to last year, but also widened the gap with competitors in the wider Mediterranean region.

 

In second place this year is Italy, which welcomed 1,995 boats, and the top three is rounded off by France with 1,457 pleasure boat arrivals. It is followed by Spain with 1,106 arrivals, Turkey with 665 arrivals and Croatia with 646 arrivals.

 

In the same period of 2022, Greece ranked first, welcoming 2,370 yachts (+11.86% this year year-on-year), closely followed by Italy with 2,047 yachts arrivals (-2.54%). Last year France welcomed 1,337 vessels (+8.98%), Spain 921 (+20.09%), Croatia 635 (+1.73%) and Turkey 600 (+10.83%).