Greek cruise ship tourism is on course for a record-breaking season, as it is estimated that an astonishing 131 cruise ships out of the total 412 worldwide will make port calls – a place where a ship stops on its journey – in Greek ports.
This means that one in three cruise ships traveling each year will pass through Greece, demonstrating the interest of global cruise giants in Greek destinations.
Out of these 131 cruise ships, 92 will either homeport – a port/marine terminal a ship uses as its base, regardless of its port of registry – or partially homeport in Greek ports, accounting for 70% of the total, according to Maria Deligianni, Eastern Mediterranean Director of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), – the world’s largest cruise industry trade association representing 95% of the cruise sector, based in Washington DC.
Positive Impact
Homeporting in Greece has increased by 5%, indicating a trend that it is here to stay and contributing significantly to the Greek economy. The current year is expected to be particularly positive for the country, adds Deligianni. The growth of homeporting has a very positive impact on the economy of the country and local communities. Presenting CLIA’s data on the economic contribution of the cruise industry to Greece, Deligianni notes that the economic contribution of cruises increased from 1 billion euros in 2019 to 1.4 billion in 2022, 0.8 billion of which was direct revenue, while the rest (0.6 billion) was indirect and induced contribution.
Contribution
The cruise industry’s contribution to the Greek economy derives from four main activities: cruise company purchases, shipbuilding and ship repair activities, passenger spending on land, and crew expenses in Greece. The economic impact of cruising in Greece is mainly based on passenger spending and cruise company purchases, as the country is a popular destination with the ability to board some cruise ships.
Consumption
Passenger spending contributed €324 million to the Greek GDP, representing 53% of the total cruise contribution to Greece. Cruise company purchases contributed an additional €248 million to the GDP, while crew expenses and the ship repair industry had smaller contributions, each accounting for approximately €30 and €14 million of the total GDP, respectively.
2023 was a record-breaking year with over 5,230 cruise ship arrivals and 7,003,150 passengers, representing an additional 450 ship arrivals and 2,373,500 passengers compared to 2022.
