A faster process for granting tourist visas to third country nationals scheduling cruise holidays dominated talks on Monday between the relevant shipping & island policy minister and representatives of the Union of Cruise Ship Owners & Associated Members.
Sector officials told Minister Panagiotis Kouroumblis that Turkey’s “off year” in 2016 is an opportunity to attract more Chinese cruise ship vacationers, for instance, this year.
Holiday-makers from the vast Chinese market interested in Mediterranean cruises overwhelmingly chose Turkey in previous years, sector officials said, pointing to a much easier visa issuance process for the neighboring country — as opposed to Schengen Treaty member-state Greece — and direct flights.
According to statements from the meeting, tourist visas for Chinese nationals wishing to visit Greece take between one and two months, something that is a decidedly negative factor in promoting Greece as a cruise destination.
A similar problem existed for tourism visas for Russian nationals, although it was overcome by adding staff to Greek consulates and attempting to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy, a development that has cut processing time to just days.
