Page 178 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - ΟΚΤΩΒΡΙΟΣ 2024

CRUISE SECTOR

Michael Lambros analyses the prospects of the cruise sector in Greece and the Eastern
Mediterranean and proposes measures for the sustainable development of cruise tourism.

PRESENT AND FUTURE

DEVELOPMENT

OF THE CRUISE INDUSTRY

IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

AND GREECE Credit: ATHENS - MACEDONIAN NEWS AGENCY

First of all, I would like to extend my grat- ing the 2019 near-record of 450 vessels.
itude to the editorial team of the pres- Moreover, the Cruise Lines International
tigious and historic Naftika Chronika Association (CLIA) and other interna-
magazine, who has provided me once tional cruise organisations predict that
again with the opportunity to express by 2030 the global number of cruise
my personal views on the cruise sector, passengers will approach 50 million.
a field I have had the privilege of serving The Eastern Mediterranean region,
for many decades. where Greece operates, is the second
As is known, the cruise sector was most popular cruise destination after the
severely impacted during the COVID-19 Caribbean. At the time, Greece is faced
pandemic, being faced with unpleasant with a huge problem in accommodat-
surprises such as the decommissioning ing cruise passengers, due to the large
of almost all cruise ships worldwide, number of ships calling at popular Greek
which caused massive losses, partic- ports, such as Mykonos, Santorini, Her-
ularly for the major cruise lines. At the aklion, and Rhodes.
same time, a large number of cruise In 2023, the rate of cruise ship arriv-
ships changed ownership, while many als to Greek destinations exceeded all
were sold for scrap. expectations, reaching a record high of
The cruise industry started recover- seven million passengers. Passengers
ing in the second half of 2022, con- are expected to surpass the eight-mil-
tinued its rebound throughout 2023, lion mark in 2024. The number of Greek
and is expected to surpass the 2019 destinations that received cruise ships
record-breaking number of cruise pas- in 2023 was more than fifty and is
sengers worldwide by the end of 2024. expected to further increase in 2024.
Currently, there are more than 50 The surge in the cruise market is owed
new cruise ship orders to be delivered to the fact that Greece is now consid-
between 2024 and 2028, totalling $35 ered a very popular destination. Given
billion and an average capacity of more these estimates, the international and
than 2,000 passengers per ship. Accord- domestic cruise industry will record an
by Michael Lambros, ing to Cruise Industry News, the current upward trend in the coming years, both
Managing Director global fleet – including new orders – in terms of passenger numbers and new
of Majestic International Cruises Inc.
consists of 550 cruise ships, surpass- destinations. Therefore, now more than

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