The year comes to an end with twice as many cruise ships compared to 2022 visiting the port of Heraklion local media reported Sunday.
The Cretan port recorded a 50% increase in its passenger traffic in Dec. 2023 while it seems to be optimistic for the year to come.
The Heraklion Port Authority organized a special event with special Cretan treats, traditional music and gifts, to say goodbye to the last cruise ship leaving its port for 2023; the Silver Moon.
According to official data of the Heraklion Port Authority, a total of 382,981 cruise passengers visited the port in 2023, while cruise ship arrivals reached 253.
The port arrivals recorded a 27% increase compared to 2022 in passenger traffic.
In terms of passenger origin, the majority for 2023 came from America, with 1 in 4 passengers and a total number of 97,245 Americans.
Other nationalities included, Italians, Germans and English with 54,629, 45,187 and 42,416 passengers respectively.
The CEO of the Heraklion Port Authority Minas Papadakis, pointed out that, “2023 marked an extremely successful year for cruise ships in the port of Heraklion, while 2024 is expected to be a new milestone, with estimates reaching 300 cruise ships, 38 of the which are homeport.
Papadakis added that with collective effort and systematic work, the port of Heraklion is consistently chosen by major companies in the sector establishing it as one of the most important homeports for embarkation and disembarkation in the Eastern Mediterranean”.
Ioannis Vardavas, President of the Heraklion Port Authority added that “the official figures for the cruise ships in our port demonstrate its dynamics due to the high quality of services provided.
The port of Heraklion is one of the most popular destinations in Greece, he noted while the year “2024 will be another year of significant progress for the cruise ships with significant growth rates, with multiple benefits, both for the city of Heraklion and for the economy of Greece.”
Source: tovima.com
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