ATHENS, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Cruise companies are increasingly using Greek ports for starting and ending their itineraries. And such increase in "homeporting" is set to become even greater in 2020 and 2021, port authorities have told Xinhua.
On Wednesday MSC Cruises, one of the world's leading cruise operators, announced in Athens it is adding Piraeus to its homeporting points as of 2021, and thanked the authorities and travel industry for their cooperation.
Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) is majority-owned and managed by China COSCO Shipping Group.
"The summer of 2021 appears to be busy, with Piraeus playing an important role in the Eastern Mediterranean cruise schedule, with visitors boarding there for the first time," said Angelo Capurro, executive director for MSC Cruises.
Nektarios Demenopoulos, PPA deputy manager for public and investor relations, told Xinhua that last year the number of homeporting passengers in Piraeus increased 15.83 percent to 410,512 from 354,398 in 2018. With improving infrastructure, the trend is projected to continue this year and in 2021.
On Monday, the management of PPA met with the Regional Authority of Attica on the expansion project of cruise docks at the port with a budget of 120 million euros (133 million U.S. dollars).
The additional mooring points will be able to host larger cruise ships and should be ready in 2022, Demenopoulos told Xinhua.
Capurro, an Italian, explained that due to excessive tourism, restrictions in Venice, Italy have led MSC Cruises to examine alternative home ports, "which has made us turn to Piraeus that appears to be an ideal solution."
Over the last three years, MSC Cruises reported a 41 percent increase in cruise passengers in Greece in total, thanks to the growing interest in Greek destinations and the improvement in infrastructures in the country.
Spyridon Zervopoulos, chief executive of the Corfu Port Authority, told Xinhua that the Ionian Sea's main cruise port has also seen a rise in homeporting, which is projected to expand further this year, as is a priority for the authority.
"The benefits of homeporting are considerable for local businesses and the island in general," he noted.
Heraklion, the largest city on the island of Crete, also anticipates a major increase in cruise ships starting and terminating their routes there.
Apollon Philippis, chairman and chief executive officer of Heraklion Port Authority, told Xinhua that in 2017 only three cruises chose Crete's main port as their home. The number doubled to six in 2018, and rose to 10 last year, and this year it is set to reach 14, before soaring to 45 in 2021, he cited cruise operator bookings. (1 euro = 1.11 U.S dollars)
