Event to boost tourism in Evia held on the cruise ship "OCEAN MAJESTY"

Event to boost tourism in Evia held on the cruise ship “OCEAN MAJESTY”

Χωρίς κατηγορία / Τρίτη, 25 Απριλίου 2017

The strengthening of the tourism flow to Evia and the promotion of cruise programs with visits to Evia harbors was the main subject of the discussion during the event, which was held on Thursday, April 20th, on the cruise ship “OCEAN MAJESTY” which docked for this purpose at the port of Chalkida.

The event, which was crowned with great success, was organized by the Municipality of Chalkida, the company “MAJESTIC INTERNATIONAL CRUISES” and the Association of Shipowners and Cruise Ship Operators, was attended by a large number of representatives from all over Evia and beyond.

Present at the event, were among others, the Minister of Shipping and Insular Policy, Mr. Kouroumplis, the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Mr. Mavraganis, MPs Mr. Akriotis, Mr. Pratsolis and Mr. Kedikoglou, the President of the Supreme Court and former Prime Minister Mrs. Vassiliki Thanou, the Regional Governor Mr. Bakoyannis, the Regional Vice – Governor of Evia Mr. Spanos, the Regional Vice – Governor for Tourism, Culture and Sports Mr. Kontzias , the Chief of the Coast Guard Mr. Raptis, the Mayors of Dirfyon – Messapion Mr. Psathas and and of Istiaia – Edipsou Mrs. Spanou, the economic supervisor from the Evia Chamber of Commerce Mr. Koukousas, the former MPs Mr. Papageorgopoulos and Mr. Kalamakides, the chairman of the Association “The Smile of the Child” Mr. Giannopoulos, the chairman of the Evia Labor Center Mr. Basinas, vice mayors and municipal councilors.

Before the event got started there was a commemoration of the crucible by the Metropolitan of Chios, Zara and Oinousses, Ch. Marcos (Chios is the shipowner’s birthplace), which was attended by representatives of the Local Church.

This was followed by a brief greeting speech from the General Manager of “MAJESTIC INTERNATIONAL CRUISES” Michalis Lambros. He stressed ,among other things that his company swiftly responded to the proposal made by the Mayor of Chalkida to organize this event, with the main objective being the further development of the tourism flow towards the island of Evia. He also stressed that Evia offers great and rare touristic opportunities, especially Chalkida, which has the privilege of being at a “walking” distance from Athens and can certainly offer its visitors an alternative form of tourism a potential which unfortunately is to date untapped.

At his speech the mayor of Chalkida, Mr. Christos Pagonis pointed out that Evia and Chalkida, having experienced the consequences of deindustrialisation in the last decades, have already turned their attention to tourism and that one of the Municipality’s main priorities is to develop an extrovert local economy , through culture, sports and tourism. In this line the Municipality promotes actions and develops attractions aimed at extending the tourist season.

Continuing, the Mayor also underlined the following:

“Maritime tourism has been and continues to be one of the most dynamic forms of tourism, contributing to the economies of the countries involved. Cruise tourism, especially, responds to the needs of mass tourism and is an integrated tourist product that combines transportation, accomodation, catering, recreation and multiple activities. Although our country is an extremely attractive cruise destination, with a remarkable development during the last decade, it has not managed to profit equally from the created revenue. We lack in marketing and promotion policies, in targeted and continuous actions, as well as in terms of infrastructure both in a regional and a local level. And this is something that needs to be changed, taking into account the economic benefits for both the country and the local community especially in the aspect of the so much needed job creation.

Chalkida offers special geomorphological attributes and ideal environmental conditions, as well as a decent accomodation infrastructure. And this is another reason why we hope to promote cruise and maritime tourism, as its development requires significant investment in projects. The main investments should be targeted to our port facilities with the aim to improve docking and refueling conditions for both cargo ships and yachts.

Being aware of the dynamics that can be developed in our country through maritime and cruise tourism, we look forward to the cooperation of shipping operators, the Association of Cruise Ship Operators, and the regional authorities in order to stenghten tourism development and to promote our wider region as a destination. Moreover, we expect that the Professionals in the field of tourism will provide a useful assistance in this effort through the exploitation of new technologies, the improvement of the current tourist infrastructure so that Chalkida can become a champion city of Central Greece in the tourim market.

Finally, I would like to thank in particular the General Manager of “MAJESTIC INTERNATIONAL CRUISES” Michalis Lambros, the President of the Association of Cruise Ship Operators and Marine Managers Mr. Theodoros Kontes, OLNE and his executives, the former president of OLNE Mr. Tsergas and the Maritime Office of Mr. Nikos Boukou, the Harbor Master of Chalkida and the officers of the Coast Guard, without the precious and charitable offer of whom, we would not have been able to undertake today’s event, an event so important to the Municipality of Chalkida”.

The Minister of Shipping Panayiotis Kouroumplis and the representative of New Democracy MP Mr. Simos Kedikoglou saluted the initiative taken by the Mayor of Chalkida, while issues related to cruise tourism were addressed by Theodoros Kontes, who underlined that Evia can take part in this dynamic section of tourism, by exploiting its harbors .

At the closing of the event groups from the Lyceum Club of Greek Women of Chalkida and the “Alonaki” Association presented traditional dances. A buffet was also offered to the guests during which the mayor of Chalkida Christos Pagonis gave souvenirs to the ship owner and the shipmaster.

All the guests were also given an envelope with a special postage stamp and stamp for the commemoration of the arrival of a cruise ship in Chalkida for the first time.

Event to boost tourism in Evia held on the cruise ship “OCEAN MAJESTY”

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