Mykonos Port Fund: Increased passenger fees in Mykonos & Santorini threaten
Source: Tornos News
The President of the Municipal Port Fund of Mykonos, Ath. Kousathanas – Megas, is asking the government to reconsider and suspend the imposition of the increased cruise passenger fee in Mykonos and Santorini, or at least to make it equal to the five-euro fee that applies to other destinations, speaking of “worrying forecasts for the development of cruises in Mykonos and Santorini”.
In response to a newspaper article, Mr. Kousathanas emphasizes in a statement: “the implementation of the cruise passenger fee risks developing into a threat to this important sector of tourism, the cruise. It was introduced in order to correct a problem that had been solved beforehand, at least in Mykonos, thanks to the rational distribution of arrivals, based on the berth allocation system (the so-called berth allocation system) which has been operating perfectly since this year. And, as we had predicted, it has caused strong reactions, mainly from Greek passengers, who are protesting the obligation to pay fees in Greek ports, especially in Mykonos and Santorini where the unrealistic amount of 20 euros per person was imposed, in contrast to other destinations which are only 5 euros”.
Referring to the Naftemporiki article, he expresses his concern that many cruise lines may proceed to block destinations in 2026 “as the measure of increased disembarkation fees in popular ports, such as Santorini and Mykonos, seems to have the opposite effect than expected”. Mr. Kousathanas also cites a statement by Celestyal Cruises’ operations director, George Koumbenas, that “in 2025, approximately 20% of the passengers of the company’s two cruise ships, totaling 20,000 passengers, chose to remain on board the company’s ships during their stay in Mykonos and Santorini, mainly due to the new increased fee of 20 euros per person”.
Finally, he points out: “We emphasize once again that cruising is an important pillar of support for Mykonos’ professionals and any suspension measure has a serious impact on the island’s economy. We want to believe that the Government will reconsider this and promptly announce the suspension of the imposition of the fee, or at least its equalization with the five (5) euro fee, as is the case for other destinations, so that we do not find ourselves in the unpleasant surprise of receiving fewer cruise ships next year and consequently a reduction in tourist traffic.”
The original article: belongs to Tornos News .
