The relevant shipping minister this week promised to push through Parliament at least 10 concessions in ports around the country for infrastructure and services dealing with the cruise ship sector, increasingly viewed by local tourism professionals as a very lucrative market.
The minister, Panagiotis Kouroumblis, extended an invitation to international cruise ship operators to invest in port infrastructure, especially in terms of hosting such vessels.
“We’re determined to proceed with the concessions and certain activities in ports for the construction of infrastructure …” he said in Parliament, while promising that his government intends to facilitate the cruise ship sector with “works not words”.
In a related development, the tourism ministry said TUI Group forecasts a 20-percent increase in cruise sector in Greece for 2017.
