The 5th Panhellenic Yachting Congress opened its doors with a strong political and business footprint, highlighting maritime tourism as a strategic pillar of the national economy and a field of direct interventions to strengthen the country’s competitiveness.
Deputy Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Stefanos Gkikas, representing Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, sent a clear message of political will for the further development of Greek yachting, characterizing it as the “driving force behind maritime tourism”, with a substantial contribution to the economy, employment and the labor market in the maritime sector.
Referring to the modernization of the institutional framework, he underlined the importance of Law 4926/2022 for the activation of pleasure boats and tourist day boats, as well as the interventions for the simplification and rationalization of bureaucratic procedures. As he emphasized, 6,608 active vessels are registered in the Electronic Register of Pleasure Boats and Tourist Day Boats -2,292 motorized and 4,316 sailing – data that, as he noted, “demonstrate the dynamism and development of the market”.
Particular emphasis was also placed on the digitalization of the Ministry’s services, through the applications “e-NEPA” for the electronic establishment of Pleasure Shipping Companies, “e-Charter Permission” for the professional operation of ships and “e-Charterparty” for the digitalization of charter parties, interventions that drastically reduce administrative time and costs for businesses.
Upgrading 30 island ports
At the same time, the deputy minister announced the implementation of a program to upgrade 30 island ports, with a total funding of 260 million euros -180 million from the NSRF “Transport 2021-2027” and 80 million from the Recovery Fund – substantially strengthening port infrastructure and the yachting activity environment.
In the same context, he highlighted the plan for the creation of a maritime tourism hub in the Ionian Islands and Northwestern Greece, with a focus on the marinas of Kefalonia and Lefkada, the strategic investment in Astakos, the marina of Igoumenitsa, the Mega Yacht marina in Corfu, as well as the marinas of Imerolia, Spilia and Benitses.
As he underlined, these interventions will change the face of yachting in the region and will stop the leakage of maritime tourism to competing countries.
Pillar of 6 billion euros for the economy
On his part, the president of the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in a message posted on social media on the occasion of the conference, highlighted the significant importance of maritime tourism, noting that yachting, with more than 2,500 professional boats, is one of the strongest pillars of the sector.
Its direct contribution is estimated at 1.5 billion euros, while the total direct and indirect impact reaches 5-6 billion euros, i.e. approximately 2.5% of GDP.
He stressed that Greece ranks second worldwide in the movement of pleasure boats and third in the Mediterranean in the number of superyachts over 24 meters.
At the same time, he noted that every 1 euro spent on docking fees creates an additional 5-10 euros in the economy through fuel, supplies, maintenance, taxation and payroll, while for every 100 docking positions, 6 direct and approximately 100 indirect jobs are created.
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