Sea Tourism

A national committee that will oversee matters of cruise travel was the focus of a recent meeting between the board of the Union of Cruise Shipowners and Associated Members (EEKFN) and government officials.

Limnos authorities said on Wednesday, they would be seeking legal action concerning the problem of lacking ferry services to island.

Piraeus will be the homeport for Carnival Cruise Lines’ largest ship to date, the 133,500-ton Carnival Vista, when it launches its Mediterranean cruises in Spring 2016.

The historic Thessaloniki ferries will once again be sailing the Thermaic Gulf, south of the port city, as part of a pilot program aimed at improving transportation services.

The heads of the Greek ports of Piraeus, Santorini and Mykonos have agreed to work together and coordinate their cruise policies for 2016.

The European Commission earlier this month launched the inaugural Pan-European Dialogue between ports, cruise operators and coastal tourism stakeholders with a conference in Brussels.

The HPA will be attending one of the industry’s largest industry shows, the Cruise Shipping Miami conference, as part of the promotion actions for Heraklion as a prime cruise destination.

The president of the Heraklion Port Authority, Ioannis Bras, yesterday proposed the launch of a National Cruise Council in Greece, during a meeting in Athens with Alternate Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura.

The cruise industry is set to sail through 2015 with ease, according to the latest report by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which estimates that a record 23 million passengers are expected to board a liner this year.

The port of Piraeus recorded a decreased number of embarkations and disembarkations of cruise ships but a one-million-plus increase in cruise passenger traffic in 2014, the Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) said this week, adding that it remained profitable for a fifth consecutive year.