Tourism market has cabotage rules in sights
The Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises (SETE) warned yesterday it could take recourse to the European Union over the cabotage regulations that prevent cruises starting or finishing in Piraeus. Because of the restrictions, according to SETE, cruise companies are considering excluding Greece’s biggest port from their routes and instead using Bari in Italy or Antalya in Turkey as their main embarkation/disembarkation port in the eastern Mediterranean. In a letter sent recently to the relevant ministers, SETE also warns that Greece’s image and revenues will suffer heavily if the Panhellenic Seamen’s Federation makes good on its threat to block the Zenith cruiser, which will carry a total of 100,000 Spanish passengers this summer to Greece, unless its company hires another 107 Greek seamen.
