Greece Breaks All Cruise Records in 2023, Says Hellenic Ports Association

Photo source: celebrity Cruises

Greece broke all cruise records in 2023 with 49 Greek ports welcoming 5,230 cruise ship arrivals and 7,003,150 passengers marking a 9.41 percent and 51.26 percent rise respectively over 2022, according to data released by the Hellenic Ports Association (ELIME).

The previous record was in 2011 when Greece welcomed 5,261 cruise ships and 6,121,360 passengers. In 2023, the number of passenger was up by 14.4 percent over record year 2011.

According to ELIME, in the 2023-2022 and 2023-2011 periods, cruise ships making port calls in Greece were higher in passenger capacity.

Leading the way in terms of arrivals last year was the port of Piraeus which handled 1,500,000 passengers, followed by Santorini (1,298,968), Mykonos (1,192,822), Corfu, Rhodes, Katakolo, and Heraklion.

Greece’s largest port also took the lead in terms of homeporting activity accounting for 525 arrivals and 880,800 passengers who departed and returned to Piraeus.

Cruise passenger increases compared to 2022 were reported in Piraeus up by 70.37 percent, Mykonos (+73.90 percent), Santorini (+57.15 percent), Katakolo (+55.57 percent), and Zakynthos (510.96 percent).

Destinations that marked declines in cruise ship arrivals were Folegandros (-61.68 percent), Patra (-41.02 percent), Volos (-28.36 percent), Kos (-6.13 percent ), Samos (-9.63 percent), Syros (-7.18 percent), and Igoumenitsa (-3.63 percent).

Other homeporting achievements were recorded in Corfu (54 arrivals, 194,792 passengers), Lavrio (99 arrivals, 123,383 passengers), Heraklion (six arrivals, 14,106 passengers), and Thessaloniki (31 arrivals, 10,000 passengers).

“The cruise segment in Greece has significant development potential for both local communities and the national economy. A further increase in homeporting activity combined with the development of infrastructure can create even greater prospects for additional jobs and opportunities in the market,” said ELIME.