Page 69 - iGREECE_CRUISING DECEMBER 2023

tracting 21% of the world’s cruise travel- place, cruising starting with the yards gen-
lers. erated 41 billion Euro of economic impact
across the Continent, supporting 315,000
During the downturn, European govern- European jobs.
ments led the way by working collabora-
tively with us, particularly in the East Med. In fact, the economic impact that cruise
tourism brought to this country surpassed
Together, we took the necessary steps to 1 billion Euro and generated more than
enable a phased, safe and responsible re- 15,000 jobs.
turn to service.
In Greece today, the economic benefits
And here I want to convey a special thanks from the tourists that come to these shores
to Greece, and in particular the University on cruise ships are already higher than in
of Thessaly, and Professor Christos Had- 2019.
jichristodoulou.
This is in part thanks to the great work by
They were a key part of the EU Healthy local authorities to increase homeporting
Gateways project to support the restart operations in Greece.
of our vessels here in the region, and in
Greece itself during the pandemic emer- Last year, 47 of the 87 CLIA cruise ships
gency. that operated in Greece homeported – a
remarkable 54%.
And they continue with their important in-
put through the EU Healthy Sailing – Hori- Homeporting brings the strongest econom-
zon Europe Project. ic benefits for any destination.

The cruise industry benefits local econo- It increases the time that tourists spend
mies here and across the whole of Europe. ashore both before and after the cruise, in-
cluding demand for accommodation.
In 2021 for example with restrictions still in

i GR E E C E TR A V E L