The Hellenic Ports Association (ELIME) announced a 14% increase in cruise ship arrivals and a 16% increase in passenger traffic in Greece in 2019. Cruise ship arrivals in 43 Greek ports reached 3,899 ship arrivals in 2019, up from 3,410 in 2018. Passenger arrivals reached 5,537,500 people in 2019, up from 4,788,642 in 2018. Piraeus Port continued its place as the top cruise ship destination in Greece, welcoming 622 cruise ships and 1,098,091 passengers in 2019. Other leading ports in 2019 include:
Santorini: 592 cruise ships; 980,771 passengers
Mykonos: 550 cruise ships; 784,490 passengers
Rhodes: 258 cruise ships; 308,194 passengers
Souda (Chania): 132 cruise ships; 265,956 passengers
Greece has been developing its cruise ship business as a core aspect of its national tourism strategy and has embarked on a number of projects to improve port handling and facilities. ELIME forecasts higher cruise ship and passenger arrivals in Greece in 2020 based on pre-booking data.
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Photo (c) Municipality of Piraeus
Sources:
Greek Travel Pages, 8 January 2020
InBusiness News Cyprus, 8 January 2020
Business Daily Greece, 7 January 2020
Business News Greece, 7 January 2020
Skai News Greece, 7 January 2020