Greece is losing out on the international cruise business
Greece’s insistence on the protectionist status of cabotage, or its exclusive right to control shipping in its coastal waters, is leading to an annual loss of 1 billion euros in revenue, the Seatrade Med conference earlier this month heard in Venice. Yiannis Evangelou, who represented the Greek National Tourism Organization at the event, stressed that Greece continues to prevent international cruise vessels from setting up a permanent home port in this country – that is, the port where cruises start and end – resulting in a very low share of receipts in the European market, just 2.6 percent. Spain lands around 7.4 percent, or 954.6 million euros, against about 335 million euros for Greece.
