POTENTIAL cruise ship restrictions in Greece (CW 17 Jun) will not make a large difference in helping the country bring its inundated tourism industry under control, according to Greece & Mediterranean Travel Centre Managing Director Halina Kubica.
The industry leader told Cruise Weekly Greece’s issues with tourism management extend beyond the cruise industry.
Although the situation has improved, introducing restrictions to the cruise industry will not provide greater balance, she said.
“I don’t think it will make such a big difference,” Kubica asserted.
“There is an issue of managing everything altogether, not in particular the cruise industry.
“I don’t think limiting cruises…is going to make such a big change,” she added.
Kubica said in the more than two decades she has run her business, she has seen improvements in Greece’s ability to manage tourism, but agreed tackling the issue is hard.
She said cruises generally pose no capacity problem to Greece’s most popular islands, such as Mykonos, Santorini, Crete and Rhodes, with only the smaller destinations lacking the requisite infrastructure to cope.
“Greece is generally doing a good job,” Kubica assessed.
“We have to acknowledge the improvements in organising ferry transfers…it’s still not perfect, they had the huge rush post COVID, and obviously, it’s hard to manage,” Kubica added.
Cruise passengers may not deliver the same desired economic impact to Greece as other tourists do, she considered.
Many cruise itineraries that visit Greece depart from outside the country, and focus more on the most popular islands.
“Considering [cruises] are generally all-inclusive, there is not much people might come to buy,” she said.
“They don’t spend enough, they don’t have time to enjoy local restaurants,” Kubica added.
The Greece & Med head specialist said her company has witnessed an increase in demand for small-ship cruising, but noted Australians are taking land-based holidays in the country more than cruises by about four-fold.
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