THESSALONIKI – The first cruise ship is expected at the port of Thessaloniki on February 5, Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias said on Wednesday after the working meeting he had with the COO of Fraport Greece, Ilias Maragakis, the Executive Chairman of the Board of OLTH SA, Thanos Liagos, the CEO of Dimera Group, member of the Board and CIO of OLTH SA, Artur Davidian and the Director of Corporate Communication, Public Relations & Corporate Social Responsibility of OLTH SA, Theodora Riga.

The arrival of the first cruise ship at the beginning of February, the minister said, shows the expansion of the tourist season and the cruise industry, which is so important for Northern Greece and is a strategic goal for the country.

Meanwhile, the quality upgrade of Greece’s tourist product is progressing rapidly with the upgrade of the facilities at OLTH port.

Kikilias announced that with the cooperation of the tourism ministry, Fraport and OLTH, the check-in and the transfer of the luggage of travellers who go from the “Macedonia” airport to the port will be arranged by Fraport and OLTH.

The same will happen for the luggage of the passengers of the cruise ships who will continue their journey from the airport “Macedonia”. As he pointed out, through such quality services, Greek tourism is improved, while visitors to Thessaloniki will have more time available to spend in the hotels, shops and restaurants of the city.

“Such synergies, combined with the upgrading of infrastructure, enhance our tourism product and bring more revenue, which is shared not only with port or Fraport investors, but mainly with the average Greek family and the hundreds of thousands of employees in tourism,” Kikilias stressed.