Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum: the 2023 event in Thessaloniki

“The port of the city has been upgraded and has increased cruise ship calls tenfold compared to 2019,” said Vassilis Kikilias.

Thessaloniki will host the 2023 Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum next spring, as the organisers of Greece’s leading cruise and yachting conference have decided to move the event outside Athens for the first time since its launch 11 years ago.

According to the announcement, the 7th Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum (PSTF) will be held at Makedonia Palace Hotel in Thessaloniki, on 25-26 April 2023, at a time when Greece’s second largest port is emerging as a major homeporting hub for the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans, thanks to significant investments and upgrades to the maritime and aviation infrastructure.

According to official statistics from the Hellenic Ports Association (ELIME), the port of Thessaloniki is expected to complete 2022 with a total of 60 cruise ship arrivals compared to just six calls in 2019, a tenfold increase. In total, 30 of these arrivals involve homeporting activity, according to the Greek Ministry of Tourism.

Tourism Minister, Vassilis Kikilias, said: “In September 2021, a few days after I took over the Ministry of Tourism, the first trip I made was here in Thessaloniki. When I made my first visit to Thessaloniki in September 2009, the first day of my first visit to Greece, when I started my first trip to Thessaloniki, the first day of my first visit to the city of Thessaloniki. With a lot of hard and coordinated work by all stakeholders, the city’s port was upgraded and increased cruise ship calls tenfold compared to 2019. In fact, half of these involve homeporting activity, which adds more value.

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This, in code, means an increase in tourism product and a boost to the local economy. As a culmination of this effort, the 2023 Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum will be held in Thessaloniki, which deserves and should have a high performance in marine tourism.”

Athanasios Liagos, Chairman of the Board and CEO of PPA, said: “At PPA S.A. we aspire to operate as a gateway to growth, creating added value for the city, the economy and society. As such, we look forward to hosting PSTF 2023 and welcoming to our city some of the most important and influential representatives of the international cruise and marine tourism industry worldwide.

During their stay here, they will have the opportunity to experience first-hand the exciting, highly vibrant and constantly evolving tourism product of Thessaloniki, which combines unlimited air, rail and road connections to all parts of Greece and Europe, upgraded and state-of-the-art transport infrastructure and the strategic location of a city known as a crossroads of culture and high gastronomy, full of Byzantine history”, Mr.Liagos added.

The port of Thessaloniki is the main maritime gateway to the Balkans and South-Eastern Europe, as it is strategically located close to major trans-European motorway and railway networks. PPA is implementing a multi-million euro investment plan to contribute to the transformation of Thessaloniki into an important transport, trade, tourism and logistics hub for South-Eastern Europe. Ongoing investments include, among others, the Pier 6 extension project, which will provide direct handling of main line container ships and upgrade the cruise terminal.

“Our decision to move the 7th edition of the PSTF to Thessaloniki was an easy one, as the city is fast becoming a seasonal hub for the North Aegean, with the ambition to become a major homeport port for an extended season and for all cruise lines that choose to be based in Greece,” said Theodoros Vokos, CEO of Posidonia Exhibitions S.A. E. and recently elected president of the newly established Association of Greek Exhibition Organisers and Manufacturers (SOKEE).

“Our decision is aligned with the realisation that all stakeholders in the region need to work closely with cruise lines to create more itinerary options that will help reduce visitor density, excessive tourist traffic and overcrowding during peak season for popular ports.

Among other things, one of the objectives of the 7th Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum will be to highlight new destinations, both in Greece and the wider region, as the cruise industry needs more options in the future,” he concluded.

PSTF 2023 is organised with the support of PPA as Diamond Sponsor, is under the auspices of the Ministry of Shipping & Island Policy and the Ministry of Tourism and is supported by the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping, the International Association of Cruise Lines (CLIA), the Association of Mediterranean Cruise Ports and the Association of Cruise Ship Owners & Shipping Operators.