Cruise tourism can be defined as a planned voyage, for recreational purposes. Cruise travel packages offer food, accommodation and indoor facilities or activities on board such as retail stores, casinos, gyms, swimming pools, libraries, bars and usually cruises are accompanied by short stops in the desired ports.
Cruises are not preferred by everyone and it cannot be considered as mass tourism, although a cruise ship can accommodate many tourists. It used to be a luxury type of tourism as it cost a lot of money, but even today the cost of a cruise is higher than staying in an accommodation. The highest percentage of cruise tourism is observed in North America and then in Europe, Asia and South America.
Numeric details about cruises
The average cruise is 7 days which justifies its high cost. The average age is 53 years and a large percentage of tourists are accompanied by the following characteristics: married or solo, families with minor children and retirees.
Cruises represent 2% of the global tourism industry and several studies with current data predict an increasing trend for the future. A big advantage of cruising is that there are several repeaters.
Cruise in Greece
What is happening in Greece? Is there cruise tourism? Piraeus is the 9th largest Mediterranean cruise port and competes with other important ports such as Barcelona, Marseille, Genoa and of course Venice. Specifically, in 2019 the port of Piraeus had 622 arrivals by cruise ships out of the 3,899 and 1,098,091 cruise passengers out of 5,537,500. It is worth noting that in July 2019 the port of Piraeus won the distinction of the best cruise port in the Eastern Mediterranean from the Mare Nostrum Awards. Apart from Piraeus, the ports of Santorini, Mykonos, Corfu, Katakolo, Rhodes, Heraklion, Chania, Kefalonia and Patmos contribute significantly to cruising.
Should we go on a cruise? Yes! In Greece, cruises have been adapted to the local data, offering domestic cruises, less than 7 days and at affordable prices for everyone! Definitely, cruises are the best kind of tourism for those who want to know several destinations in a short time period!