www.TheSeaNation.gr

Executives from Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) travelled to Santorini last week to meet with key stakeholders on the island, to further move forward plans to ensure a sustainable future for the cruise industry as the summer peak season approaches.
CLIA Europe Chairman and CEO Costa Group and Carnival Asia, Michael Thamm, CLIA Europe Secretary General Tom Boardley, and Maria Deligianni CLIA Europe representative in Eastern Mediterranean met with Mayor Nikolaos Zorzos, and Municipal Port Fund officials Ioannis Evdaimon and Tassos Konidaris.
In 2018, a berth allocation system for cruise ships and a cap of 8,000 cruise passengers on 24-hour basis was introduced, which will be fully implemented this year.
Fruitful and positive discussion took place concerning the implementation and improvement of the berth allocation system, the need to spread tourists all around the island, the function of the cable car, the responsible use of donkeys and the recent campaign “In their Hooves” of the international charity The Donkey Sanctuary, and data collected by CLIA Europe on the island’s tourist flow.
Mayor of Santorini Nikos Zorzos said: “It was a real pleasure to welcome CLIA Europe in Santorini. We discussed the challenges we face on our island due to increased tourism flows and several cruise related issues. We presented the Berth Allocation System and its results so far, the plan for the construction of a new cable car and the promotion of new destinations on the island for cruise guests such as the archaeological sites and the traditional villages. We were also delighted to present to our CLIA guests the Santorini Culture Report we recently produced”.
This visit was held in the context of CLIA’s engagement plan in Santorini to enhance the sustainability of the island.
Michael Thamm, Chairman of CLIA Europe and CEO Costa Group and Carnival Asia, said: “Cruise guests are one out of four visiting the island annually, our industry is invited to be properly managed with a berth allocation system in place. We shall respect this system and shall suggest ways for its improvement aiming at the enhancement of the guest experience.
We should also work on solutions to spread cruise passengers all over the island and throughout the whole season to ensure a good customer experience. The waiting times in the problematic locations such as the cable car are unacceptably high which affects negatively the guest experience.
Santorini’s landscape has also certain difficulties such as the limited number of landing places. We have started a constructive dialogue with the Mayor of Santorini, and I wish to continue working with him on concrete solutions”.
Both parties agreed to continue their direct discussions and cooperation.
After the meeting, the CLIA Europe delegation met with all main public and industry stakeholders from Santorini including the Harbor Master, the Boatmen Union of Santorini, the Santorini Trade Association and the Santorini Hoteliers’ Association.
The meeting was followed by a tour in Fira town and Oia village.