Positive development of marine tourism in Corfu

There is a huge demand for berths in Greece with the Ionian Islands being high on visitors' preferences, while the government is already planning to make Corfu a centre of marine tourism. However, as experts told Enimerosi, particular attention should be paid to the environmental footprint of the overcrowding of vessels, as well as the improvement of the island's basic infrastructure.
 
Although Greece has a huge length of coastline, there are far fewer marinas (60 marinas, 13,000 organised berths, 23,537 private and professional boats), unlike other countries, such as France and Spain, where every city has one.
 
This, of course, creates a huge demand, with the Ionian Islands being among the first choices of visitors, while Corfu has the advantage of having an airport and port that provide easier access to the area.
 
 
Waiting lists
 
Marina Gouvia is overcrowded and has waiting lists in the last few years, with the 1,200 berths being sold out early, especially for large vessels, while the demand for the Benitses and Alipa Marinas is also significant.
 
"The demand and pressure for Corfu is very high and it helps us that these two marinas have been developed, as the boats are getting bigger and bigger and require more space and services. There is a lot of growth in marine tourism, as apart from the mooring of boats we also have professional boats which are being rented and are increasing every year. Moreover, it is worth emphasising that based on data, customers from boats spend five times more money than a hotel customer," the Gouvia Marina director Kostas Karabatsos told Enimerosi.
 
In fact, he said that by the end of 2024 the number of berths will increase to 1,350 due to the high demand recorded.
 
 
The projects         
 
This positive development of marine tourism in Corfu has opened the way for the creation of other marinas. There is already a major international tender for the Mega Yacht Marina, the Masterplan has been completed and the tender documents for the Lefkimmi Marina are being prepared, the Masterplan for the Imerolias Marina has been prepared, work has begun on the upgrade of the Gaios Marina in Paxos, while the project of the Cafe Yiali Marina is being implemented.
 
Discussion has also begun for another project in Kaliviotis in South Corfu, for which the Municipal Council is expected to express an opinion on Monday.
 
 
Does not exist in Albania
 
Given the fact that Albania does not have such infrastructure, the Gouvia Marina serves as a starting point for marine tourism, as the spatial planner and researcher Nikiforos Balatsinos told Enimerosi.
 
"North of Corfu there is no infrastructure for a vessel to go from the Adriatic to Crete. Every 30 miles of coastline there should be a marina, as well as a berth in between, at 15 miles, to serve the vessels. The Venice-Dubrovnik route has the abovementioned characteristics, but the Albanian coast does not. If this changes, Corfu will stop being a starting point and therefore the high demand for Corfu will be decrease," said Mr. Balatsinos.
 
 
Environmental footprint
 
However, the overcrowding of vessels found in Corfu raises a serious concern regarding the impact on the environment and the energy footprint. "The marinas must be designed in a way that there will be no overcrowding of vessels. We want berths but not on top of each other. We have to pay attention to the environmental footprint," business consultant Dimitris Koutsodontis told Enimerosi.
 
 
Improving infrastructure       
 
As the Deputy Mayor for Tourism Panos Varouchas said, this development in marine tourism should be accompanied by the improvement of infrastructure, such as the road network, while the marinas should be in line with the standards of developed countries that offer a variety of services and help locals to develop business activities within them.
 
"For each marina there should be supporting structures, otherwise we will create a situation like the Caribbean, where visitors stay in luxury villas and the rest of the area is a favela," he said.
 
 
In Lefkada
 
Lefkada has also invested in marine tourism and receives a large number of boats every year. Apart from the marina in the town, another one is being created in Nidri for 80 boats.






   Photos: Lefkada Regional Authority / From the works in Nidri



Data
 
As Mr. Varouchas pointed out, according to data from the Greek Marina Association and the study of the NGO 'Dianeosis' organisation, it is clear that there is great potential in the marine tourism sector, as Greece has advantages that favour its development:
 
Detailed data on marinas in Greece and the Ionian Islands Region for 2020:
 
According to the Ministry of Tourism, Greece has 60 marinas with 18,705 berths. Several of the marinas have been awarded Blue Flags.
 
In the Ionian Islands Region there are 5 marinas with 2,229 berths.
 
Specifically, the registered marinas are:
- Corfu: Gouvia (1,068 berths) and Corfu (98 berths)
- Kefalonia: Argostoli (190 berths)
- Lefkada: Alykes (609 berths)
- Zakynthos: Zakynthos (264 berths)
 
As a country we have:
- 16,000 km of coastline, 6,000 islands and islets
- boats and marinas that contribute 1.41% of GDP
- 43,626 jobs in marine tourism, 60 marinas, 13,000 organised berths
- 17,428 private and 6,109 commercial vessels
- up to 5 times more expenditure per boat customer compared to hotels
- 6 direct jobs in marinas and 100 indirect jobs for every 100 berths