Fewer cruise ships coming to Corfu in 2023 but more passengers
tourism
19 Jan 2023
/ 10:10
CORFU. The first cruise ship is expected in March. Corfu will once again be a home port this year.
Fewer cruise ships are expected at Corfu Port in 2023 compared to last year, when there were over 400 arrivals.
Corfu Port Authority Managing Director Spyros Zervopoulos told Enimerosi that over 300 ships are expected this year with the final number to be determined in the next few days.
Cruise ships will have more passengers
Although there will be fewer ships arriving, they will have more passengers than last year, according to Mr. Zervopoulos.
The number of cruise ships that arrived at Corfu Port in 2022 was just 3% lower than in 2019 but there were approximately 162,000 fewer passengers, based on September 2022 data (423,000 last year compared to 585,000 in 2019).
"We expect it to be a good year, not so much in terms of the number of ships arriving, as there will be fewer, but in the number of passengers," said Mr. Zervopoulos. "There were a lot of arrivals by all means in 2022. Companies are now regrouping."
First cruises in March
The first cruise ship of the tourist season is expected to arrive at Corfu Port in the middle of March and the last at the end of November. Mr.Zervopoulos said that most of the passengers are from UK, Germany, France, Italy and Scandinavia.
Home Port from May
Corfu will again operate as a home port this year twice a week bringing greater financial benefits to the island. It will begin operating as a home port in May with the same two companies as last year - TUI Cruises and the German company AIDA Cruises.
Corfu Port will operate as the start and finish of cruises until the end of October. The TUI ship Marella Explorer with a capacity of 1,924 passengers will be every Friday and the AIDA Blu with a capacity of 2,450 every Sunday.
Home porting has a positive impact for the island, where the economic benefits from tourism are still moderate, and this is confirmed by the numbers of passengers. "In 2019, which was the best year for cruises, we had one home port with 30,000 to 35,000 passengers," said Spyros Zervopoulos. "In 2022, when we had two home ports, the number doubled."
Corfu Port Authority Managing Director Spyros Zervopoulos told Enimerosi that over 300 ships are expected this year with the final number to be determined in the next few days.
Cruise ships will have more passengers
Although there will be fewer ships arriving, they will have more passengers than last year, according to Mr. Zervopoulos.
The number of cruise ships that arrived at Corfu Port in 2022 was just 3% lower than in 2019 but there were approximately 162,000 fewer passengers, based on September 2022 data (423,000 last year compared to 585,000 in 2019).
"We expect it to be a good year, not so much in terms of the number of ships arriving, as there will be fewer, but in the number of passengers," said Mr. Zervopoulos. "There were a lot of arrivals by all means in 2022. Companies are now regrouping."
First cruises in March
The first cruise ship of the tourist season is expected to arrive at Corfu Port in the middle of March and the last at the end of November. Mr.Zervopoulos said that most of the passengers are from UK, Germany, France, Italy and Scandinavia.
Home Port from May
Corfu will again operate as a home port this year twice a week bringing greater financial benefits to the island. It will begin operating as a home port in May with the same two companies as last year - TUI Cruises and the German company AIDA Cruises.
Corfu Port will operate as the start and finish of cruises until the end of October. The TUI ship Marella Explorer with a capacity of 1,924 passengers will be every Friday and the AIDA Blu with a capacity of 2,450 every Sunday.
Home porting has a positive impact for the island, where the economic benefits from tourism are still moderate, and this is confirmed by the numbers of passengers. "In 2019, which was the best year for cruises, we had one home port with 30,000 to 35,000 passengers," said Spyros Zervopoulos. "In 2022, when we had two home ports, the number doubled."
