Tourism Μinister Vassilis Kikilias participated on Wednesday in the proceedings of the European Summit of the International Association of Cruise Companies (CLIA), in Genoa.
The Minister of Tourism spoke about the dynamic resumption of cruise tourism, as well as the upgrading of the role of Greece as a top destination, a fact which – as he noted – is confirmed by this year’s figures.
Specifically, Kikilias said that during this year’s season – which started in March and is expected to continue until December – 87 cruise ships owned by companies that are members of CLIA will operate in Greece. Of these, 47 will use Greek ports as their homeport (Piraeus, Heraklion, Corfu, Lavrio, Thessaloniki), with full or partial boarding of passengers. In other words, this is a percentage of 54% and figures that approach those of 2019, when a total of 97 cruise ships visited Greece. In fact, as it was pointed out, this year 25 different cruise companies – members of CLIA will visit our country, more than any other year.
“We are working systematically to further strengthen the Greek brand and our country’s position as a global cruise destination, by increasing homeporting, adding new destinations and, of course, by extending the tourist season on the islands and our ports,” Kikilias noted.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
