Following a study of the island's capacity conducted by Aegean University, authorities in Santorini are introducing a system to manage cruise ship traffic to this increasingly popular destination. This system will limit the number of passengers to a maximum of 8,000 per day.
Data from the Hellenic Port Association shows that the island of Santorini received 636 ships in 2015, ranking first among the top Greek destinations, while Piraeus came in second. A total of 790,000 passengers arrived on the island from ships docking at Athinios and Fyra
During the peak season, from May to October, 90% of arrivals were to the island of Santorini rather than other Greek islands. On a daily basis, the island accounts for 3.6% of arrivals, with 4,000 passengers disembarking, but there were days when 10,000 passengers arrived and others when traffic was close to zero.
The study also showed that:
– 10% of passengers did not disembark, which increases when the ship they are traveling on spends very little time in the different destinations.
– Another 40% took one of the excursions offered by the company they were traveling with.
– The other 30% also chose an excursion, but this time to another Greek destination.
