Total increases in some destinations are as high as 40%, and traveling by boat seems like a midsummer night’s dream to many. “Ferry ticket prices remain the same as last year,” said the president of the Greek Federation of Tourist and Travel Agencies, Lysandros Tsilidis.
“Prices have increased in many products, in energy, in fuels,” he adds.
For her part, the travel agent, Anna Tezapsidou, notes:
“Tourists usually choose the fast route, even if it is more expensive, because they do not want to waste time during their vacation. The ticket from Piraeus to Ios costs the same as the ticket from Mykonos to Santorini.”
“Since January, we have had numerous requests for tickets but several of them have not been reserved,” he adds.
As Mr. Tsilidis says: “Tickets between the Cyclades are expensive because arrival and departure port fees are also included.”
With binoculars
Coastal ferry tickets are very expensive, so the average Greek citizen sees the islands through binoculars. A family of four needs an entire salary to travel to an island.
Expensive tickets are the first topic of discussion these days as Greeks consider whether and instead to go on vacation and find that the bill does not arrive as they have to dig deep into their pockets to enjoy some carefree days. On the other hand, there is no shortage of “strange” things since we see that an island far from Piraeus like Crete is less expensive than an island closer like Milos.
The government and the Ministry of Maritime Transport look at the situation with perplexity, citing the market, free and for the moment happy with recommendations. History repeats itself as the same thing happened last summer and the government was forced to intervene after a holiday, forcing ferry companies to take individual action with special offers for families of three and four people in the middle of summer, because of course before the majority of travelers had paid the hefty price for their vacation.