ATHENS – Some 2,500 people gathered to view over 90 vessels featured at the 19th East Med Multihull & Yacht Charter Show (EMMYS), which took place May 4-6 at the picturesque port of Poros island.

“We decided to come back to the island of Poros because it is the birthplace of the East Med Yacht Show,” said Antonis Stelliatos, President of the Hellenic Professional Yacht Owners Association. ​

A crewed charter yacht show with a main focus on multihull vessels was the attraction for some 300 Greek and foreign yacht charter brokers, travel agents, and tour operators, offering the opportunity for crewed yacht charter companies to display their luxury yachts and premium services to guests from around the world.

“They say that this year will be a record year for tourism. I’m optimistic. It is not an easy year because we have the war and elections … but it’s going to be a very good year. I presume we are going to reach, charter and money-wise, the level of 2019, which was a fantastic year,” Stelliatos said.

The three-day event included an in-water yacht exhibition featuring Multihull & Monohull Crewed Yachts covering the full range of yachts & catamarans available for charter in the Greek market.

“Tourists from the States prefer crewed motor yachts, because you can visit five to six islands a week, but last year the fuel cost was sky high and we did not have what we expected. Now that fuel is going back to normal level, I believe it will be a great season,” Stelliatos said. “Catamaran is more popular for Europeans and sailboats for Skandinavians because they love adventure and the sea.”

One of the most popular yachting destinations globally, Greece offers over 150,000 vessels of various sizes for charter.

“Any government that will be elected should pay attention to the yachting industry,” Stelliatos said. Last year, the government’s benefit from chartering reached almost 100 million euros in VAT, while the seamen’s pension fund received 45 million euros from charter activities, Stelliatos said. “As a particular touristic product, [chartering] contributes 1.48% of the 20% that tourism contributes to Greece’s gross national product,” he said.

With a wide range of available vessels including superyachts, the cost for a crewed week on the water can cost anywhere from 15,000 to 1 million euros.

“We have the best country worldwide for sailing, yachting, and nautical tourism,” Stelliatos said. “Greece has almost 5,000 islands each with its own color, local cuisine and history and if you sail to any of the open seas – Aegean, Ionian, Carpathian – you breathe the air of history and civilization.”