The European Cruise Week started in Genoa, Italy on March 11 and will last until March 14, 2024, with the presence of Greek member companies of Piraeus Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PCCI) and operators of Piraeus.
As it became known, all the available exhibition spaces for the first European exhibition “Clia Innovation Expo” dedicated to cruising have been filled. For businesses in the industry, it is a unique opportunity to interact directly with the purchasing offices, decision makers and directors of shipping companies.
The exhibition takes place in the “Jean Nouvel Pavilion” of Genoa and the choice for the event is due to the fact that Italy is the first destination in Europe and the country where there is the greatest economic impact of the sector, with 15 billion euros out of 60 billion euros in total produced in Europe, as well as in employment with 125,000 of the 500,000 jobs created in total.
However, to maintain this leading role in Europe, industry companies need to work with governments, ports, terminals, destinations and the EU.
According to ELIME, last year was an amazing season for cruises in Greece, surpassing any historical precedent in total passenger arrivals.
In particular, in 49 Greek ports, total cruise ship arrivals reached 5,230 and the number of passengers reached 7 million, that is, 450 more ship arrivals with an additional 2.4 million passengers.
Accordingly, on an annual percentage basis in 2023 the country had a 9.4% increase in cruise ship arrivals and a 51.3% increase in the number of passengers.
It is worth noting that the previous recorded historical arrival record was set in 2011, with 5,261 cruise ship arrivals and 6.1 million passengers.
The new record, in terms of the number of passengers, was set with an increase of 14.4%.
The difference in percentage changes between ships and passengers, both for the last two years and for the historical records of 2023 and 2011, shows that, on average, cruise ships calling at Greek ports in 2023 had a higher occupancy of passengers per ship.
Thus, each arrival in 2023 corresponds to 1,339 passengers, compared to 969 in 2022 and 1,164 passengers per ship, in 2011.
According to the Bank of Greece, revenues from the sector in 2023 amounted to 699 million euros, compared to 413 million euros in 2022 and 556 million euros in 2019.
Vassilis Korkidis, the president of the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PCCI), said: “Piraeus entrepreneurship, observing the all-time record of cruises, adapts to its requirements and follows its development with the aim of creating the appropriate conditions for supply, refueling and repairs in the Greek shipyards.”
As the president added the objective is now to host the next Clia exhibition in the port city of Piraeus, Greece. “After all, cruise records in Greek ports and destinations confirm, more and more, that Greece is at the center of the cruise world,” he added.
