Greece is the third most popular cruise destination, with a 17% share of the market, but only sixth when it comes to the amount of revenues earned, as daily newspaper Kathimerini reports.
Figures released by the European Cruise Council show that 6.2 million people took a cruise last year, indicating a 9% increase from 2010. Of these, 4.7 million visited Greece but only €605 million were earned during their stay.
It appears that Greece has been extremely harmed by negative media coverage and the repeated riot episodes recorded in 2010 and 2011 resulted in generating an aura of unpopularity for the country. However, data show that growth is still possible but certain measures need to be taken.
In comparison, Italy topped the list of visitors with 6.4 million and earnings of 4.4 billion. Booking volumes for cruises dipped earlier this year after the Costa Concordia disaster in January when 32 people died after the cruise ship struck rocks on the Italian coast. However, the industry says bookings have recovered. The total contribution of the cruise industry to the European economy increased to a record of 36.7 billion euro in 2011 (from 35.2 billion euros in 2010), up 54% from 2006.
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