The number of cruise ships that arrived in the port of Limassol this year was three times higher than in 2020, with the cruise industry showing resilience, despite the great challenges that the tourism sector still faces, for the second consecutive year, due to the pandemic. Speaking to ‘’Entrepreneurial Limassol’’, DP World Limassol CEO Nawaf Abdulla said that from the beginning of 2021 until today, a total of 64 cruise ships have departed from the port of Limassol or made a stop at the DP World terminal (home port and transit). compared to just 19 in 2020.
At the same time, bookings for next year have already exceeded those of 2021. According to what is known so far, the DP CEO pointed out, "we expect the arrival of a total of 151 cruise ships next year, which will either start from Limassol port or will make a stop. The indications are particularly encouraging, he added, based on current bookings scheduled for 2022 and 2023.
Royal Caribbean, the cruise giant, has already reaffirmed its vote of confidence in Cyprus, continuing cruises based in the port of Limassol in 2022, specifically from next May. The Royal cruise ship, Jewel of the Seas, which chose the port of Limassol as its base for the 2021 cruises, made 17 cruises, serving more than 23 thousand passengers, bringing significant revenue to the Cyprus economy. A vote of confidence in Cyprus also came from the Italian MSC Cruises, which announced that from April 2022 it will start cruises from the port of Limassol, with the luxurious MSC Lirica.
At the same time, DP World is in contact with other major companies. "Cruise companies", according to Nawaf Abdulla, "have gradually begun to recover from the pandemic, although, it will take time [for full recovery]", he added, estimating that the sector will return to the levels of 2019, around the end of 2023, beginning of 2024.
"Cruise tourism", the DP CEO concluded, "has the potential to mitigate the seasonality of tourist flows to Cyprus, as well as to create the conditions for the diversification of tourist markets and attract visitors beyond from beyond the traditional markets".
