Limitations for cruise expansion
As summer approaches and cruise ships have begun to make their appearance en masse in Greece, the experts who speak of a disproportionately high negative impact on the environment, infrastructure and destinations in relation to the revenue they leave are increasing.
Cruise tourism is still ranked by a large portion of experts among the tourism activities with the worst sustainability profile. At a time when the average expenditure per foreign visitor in the country is now above 700 euros, on a cruise it remains at €200, according to Bank of Greece data which show revenues of the order of €1 billion from 4,381,876 passengers for 2022, based on cruise arrivals data.
However, even if cruise revenue (which is significantly lower in Greece compared to other Mediterranean countries such as Italy and Spain, according to diaNEOsis) was higher than that of typical travelers, the problems cruise ships cause and the mass disembarkation of thousands of visitors in destinations with low carrying capacity do not legitimize the uncontrolled maintenance of this activity.
The adverse effects of the sector must be limited so that they do not cause significant pressures on local communities, experts point out.
