Further to our last two articles / coverage of the two-days Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum 2023 in Thessaloniki, we bring you here below the entire welcome speech delivered by Mrs. Olympia Anastasopoulou, Secretary General at the Greek Ministry of Tourism; she said:
“Dear Ladies and Gentlemen
As representative of the Greek Government and the Ministry of Tourism, I would like to thank you for the honor of opening the second day of Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum 2023.
Since yesterday, the heart of the international cruise community beats at the Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum, the largest city and port of Northern Greece and one of the most important travel hubs in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans and now also a homeporting base.
According to statistics from the Hellenic Ports Association (ELIME), the port of Thessaloniki received a total of 61 cruise ship arrivals in 2022 compared to just six calls in 2019, showing a tenfold increase. The economic benefits of this activity are disseminated to the local community and contribute to the qualitative and quantitative increase of the tourist product.
Besides, the “Nymph of Thermaikos”, with a history of 2,300 years, is on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its Byzantine and early Christian monuments, while it is internationally mentioned as the No1 gastronomy destination of our country.
Due to its geographical position, a crossroad of peoples and cultures, it has been endowed over time with a plethora of historical, architectural and religious monuments of unparalleled beauty and cultural value. It is also within walking distance of Vergina, a world-class archaeological destination with unique finds of the Macedonian Kingdom and an amazing museum dedicated to Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great.
Thessaloniki is just one of many Mediterranean examples that have yet to be appreciated for their true value and that is why we hope at the Ministry of Tourism that with the Posidonia Sea
Tourism Forum 2023 we will promote a new approach to cruise geography and destination development that could contribute to a sustainable future in this hugely popular, multifaceted and profitable region of Greece.
Dear friends,
The Hellenic Ports Association (ELIME) characterizes 2022 as a landmark year for the cruise industry, as the total calls of cruise ships in 48 Greek ports amounted to 4.795 and the number of passengers to 4.4 million.
According to ELIME, the increase in cruise ship arrivals in 2022, compared to 2021, was steep.
With reference year 2019, when the restrictive measures against the coronavirus pandemic had not yet been implemented, the number of cruise ship arrivals in 2022 increased by 20%.
As ELIME points out, in 2022 compared to 2021, there was an increase in arrivals to all destinations and especially to Lavrio by 291%, Thessaloniki and Santorini by 259%, Mykonos by 141%, Volos by 114%, Corfu by 96%, Rhodes by 95% and Heraklion by 92%.
Homeporting in the Greek ports of Piraeus, Thessaloniki, Lavrion, Corfu and Heraklion is also significantly enhanced.
ELIME estimates that the prospects for 2023, based on today’s data, are very promising, with a weighted average increase of approximately 15% in bookings in almost all destinations.
Similarly, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) predicts that the industry will attract up to 33 million passengers in 2023 globally, significantly surpassing the 29.7 million recorded in 2019, the last year before the pandemic.
According to recently published CLIA data, Greece, which is at the forefront of European cruising, is expected to see an increase in economic benefit from the industry, with Piraeus – the country’s top port – predicted to surpass one million passengers in 2023.
It is worth noting that our country acted as a world leader for the quick and safe resumption of cruising during the pandemic and with the increase in homeporting, which led cruise companies to procure local goods and services at ports of origin and passengers to spend longer periods there, staying overnight in local hotels. The economic impact also increased due to longer stays of the ships in ports to carry out technical works.
As Mr. Vokos, CEO of Posidonia S.A. recently pointed out, ” with new cruise terminals set to be built in Souda-Chania after 2024, the planned expansion of the Piraeus cruise terminal, and Thessaloniki’s growing potential as an additional cruise hub, the industry’s growth is set to continue in Greece for the years to come.”
Ι couldn’t agree more especially if someone takes into account the fact that the value of cruise tourism is without exaggeration enormous, as every 24 cruise guests support a full-time job, while on average each visitor spends 660 euros at the ports visited during a typical seven-day cruise.
In addition, 60% of people who have enjoyed a cruise return in the coming years to a destination they first visited on a cruise ship, and therefore each cruise is basically a journey of acquaintance, a fam trip with new destinations for each passenger. CLIA’s 2020 Global Cruise Market Report found that 85% of millennials plan to cruise again, followed by Gen-X (82%), Gen-Z (79%), Baby Boomers (77%) and Traditionalists (73%).
And this is exactly the type of travelers we wish to attract: high spenders & repeaters.
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is well known that tourism contributes to regional development and social cohesion. It is the locomotive of the Greek economy, as 1 in 4 euros of the country’s GDP derives, directly or indirectly, from tourism activity.
In 2022, at a difficult juncture, with the war at the heart of Europe, the energy crisis and inflationary pressures, the very encouraging course of tourism gives us the opportunity to remain optimistic and dynamically advance our planning.
Our goal to capitalize on the good image of the country, in order to have a prolongment of tourist season both in space and time, seems to have been largely achieved.
At the Ministry of Tourism, we believe that coastal and maritime tourism can be a powerful tool for the development of the national and local economy with their total economic contribution amounting according to estimates to 1.4-1.5% of the country’s GDP, while the indirect contribution is considered to be 4 to 5 times higher.
Greece, after all, posesses the characteristics that make it one of the most attractive destinations for tourism with yachts and cruises in Europe.
Taking into account the above, we focused the actions of the Ministry on two levels: (a) the improvement of the Infrastructure for the Tourist Ports-Marinas, as well as (b) the new Marketing Strategy that places maritime tourism at the top of our priorities.
Having said that, we are quite proud of our achievements so far. Specifically, 27 Tourist Ports have progressed within 12 months.
Thus, we implemented the decision of the Ministry of Tourism to move quickly and effectively regarding our reform agenda for the development of maritime tourism in our country.
In total, several issues were addressed in order to provide solutions to more than 60 Tourist Ports during our mandate so far.
“Investment-friendly” Legislative Interventions and Actions for Tourist Ports
Also, in order to promote an investment friendly legal framework with the ultimate goal of increasing our country’s competitiveness in the field of maritime tourism infrastructure, we introduced the following changes with the Law 4926/22:
•Simplification of licensing (transition to operation approval regime of law 4442/2016)
•Establishment of a legalisation procedure for existing tourist port facilities
• Possibility of increasing under certain conditions the building ratio within the allocated tourist ports with Law 2160/1993.
Also, further improvements were introduced with Law 4974/2022.
All our actions, which contributed to the significant progress of a large number of tourist port projects, along with the aforementioned legislative and other initiatives, resulted in a sharp increase in investment interest in the field of Tourist Ports.
The investment interest was expressed through requests for meetings with various entities, including local authorities, tourist port management bodies, as well as private companies and domestic and international investors, in order to explore and support new investment initiatives focusing on the development of existing and new tourist ports of all sizes.
Dear friends,
The data, so far, suggest that 2023 demonstrates particular momentum, driven by last year’s good performance. Indicatively, already in the international exhibitions that have taken place, the messages for Greek tourism have been satisfactory, with airlines and tour operators expressing interest, and some of them even proceeding to the enhancement of flight programs and holiday packages for our country. Major tour operators, like the German group of TUI and FTI, have opened the systems of pre-booking for the next tourist season with our country leading the way in early booking offers.
The recent study “Exploring Consumer Travel Attitudes and Expectations to Drive Tourism Recovery” conducted by the European Travel Commission on a sample of consumers from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, Australia and the USA also demonstrates the interest in Greece. Our country ranks as the 4th most popular destination in consumer preference for trips that will take place this year, following Germany, Portugal and France.
Simultaneously, the first data for 2023 are extremely encouraging, according to the new issue of the series of conjunctural studies “TheTrends of Entrepreneurship“, of the Directorate for Economic Analysis of the NBG, where Greek tourism this year seems to accelerate further its pace as it is favored by the parallel influence of two trends:
– Strong desire to travel: Despite the contractionary effect of inflation on disposable income, the trend towards “revenge travel” that prevailed immediately after the pandemic seems to dominate. In addition, consumer confidence in our key markets appears to be gradually recovering, further boosting the appetite for travel from both within the EU and further afield (with the upward trend in a range of 6%-16%).
– High preference for Greece: Our country attracts strong tourist interest, being the first choice for 5.8% of Europeans this year (compared to 4.4% for 2022) regarding their next trip to Europe. At the same time, interest in early bookings in our country is 70% higher compared to 2022.
We are, therefore, proceeding with the implementation of a new philosophy, focusing on the twin transition to a greener and more sustainable development, the digital transformation and the enhancement of the skills of human resources, which are called upon to staff in the present and in the future a more resilient, sustainable, accessible and innovative tourism ecosystem in our country.
At the Ministry of Tourism we are already shaping the agenda for the real transformation of tourism and the transition to the next day with the cruise sector lying at the epicenter of our policy.
As an epilogue, please allow me to share with you the conclusion of our meeting with Mr. Pierfrancesco Vago, Global Chairman of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA): Cruising industry is a multiplier providing both global and local benefits. In other words a glocal business that deserves our full support.
Thank you very much.”
