Report: Investments of Over €416m in Sea Tourism Infrastructures in the Adriatic

The 6th Adriatic Sea Forum – cruise, ferry sail & yacht opened in Dubrovnik on Thursday, May 4. Photo source: Risposte Turismo

Investments of over 416 million euros have been made or are scheduled for sea tourism infrastructures in the Adriatic, according to an estimate for the three-year period 2023-2025 provided by Risposte Turismo, a research and consulting company at the service of the tourism macro-industry,

The estimate was announced during the presentation of the Adriatic Sea Tourism Report on Thursday in Dubrovnik by Risposte Turismo President Francesco di Cesare during day one of the sixth edition of the Adriatic Sea Forum – cruise, ferry sail & yacht.

According to the team of researchers at Risposte Turismo, which organised the forum this year in partnership with the Dubrovnik Port Authority and the City of Dubrovnik, the cruise and ferry sectors will be those set to benefit most from new investments in the three-year period under way, totalling around 210 million euros.

Projects include new cruise terminal in Igoumenitsa

Numerous projects are in the pipeline, including the new Marghera cruise terminal in Venice for the landing of ships of over 25,000 tonnes (value of the investment: 61 million euros; expected completion date: 2026); the new Igoumenitsa cruise terminal, able to host ships of up to 240 metres in length (value of the investment: approx. 50 million euros; expected completion date: end of 2023); and the new maritime station at Porto Corsini, Ravenna (value of the investment: 27.7 million euros by Ravenna Civitas Cruise Port – a joint venture between RCL Cruises and VSL Ravenna; expected completion date: 2024).

Risposte Turismo President Francesco di Cesare presenting the Adriatic Sea Tourism Report during the 6th the Adriatic Sea Forum in Dubrovnik. Photo source: Risposte Turismo

Other new infrastructures to be developed in the Adriatic area include, by summer 2024, the second maritime station in the port of Bari (value of the investment: 11.5 million euros; expected completion date: summer 2024) and the first maritime station of Split (value of the investment: 8.5 million euros; expected completion date: 2024).

As regards the nautical sector, further investments of 206 million euros have been mapped out by Risposte Turismo, at least 182 million euros of which for the construction of new marinas and a further 24 million euros for the expansion of existing facilities.

The new projects set for development include the Vlora Marina in Albania (483 berths, also for the superyacht segment, available from 2025 thanks to a total investment of approx. 45 million euros) and the Marina of Porto Baros in Rijeka (230 berths ready in 2024 thanks to a total investment of approx. 50 million euros by ACI-Gitone, a joint venture between ACI Marinas and the Lürssen shipyard).

Numerous projects are also under way for the expansion of existing facilities, including Marina Polesana (138 new moorings for a total investment of €20 million) and Marina Korkyra (39 new berths for an investment of approx. 1.5 million euros).

On the Italian front, meanwhile, around 100 new berths will be created: from the 40 expected by the end of 2023 in the tourist port of Jesolo (Venice) to the 50 that will be ready in 2024 in the tourist port of Rodi Garganico, in the province of Foggia, as well as 10 in the Marina of Brindisi.

15 encounters and over 50 speakers in attendance

The sixth edition of the Adriatic Sea Forum began with opening speeches by Blaž Pezo, General Manager of Dubrovnik Port Authority; Mato Franković, Mayor of Dubrovnik; Joško Cebalo, Deputy Prefect of the Dubrovnik-Neretva Region; and Josip Bilaver, State Secretary of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructures of Croatia.

The forum will host more than 15 encounters and debates on the tourism potential and the challenges facing the Adriatic area. It will be attended by over 50 international speakers and more than 250 operators representing the various professional categories involved in maritime tourism in the Adriatic.

At the end of the first day of the forum, the first Summit of the Presidents of the Adriatic Ports was scheduled to take place behind closed doors. The summit – the result of a joint effort on the part of Risposte Turismo, Assoporti and the Croatian Port Authorities Association – is expected offer a new opportunity for dialogue between the heads of the ports and the national trade associations.

The salient results of the Summit, which will end with the signing of a declaration of intent regarding future projects and activities to be carried out in the tourist ports of the Adriatic, will be reported on Friday by Tomislav Batur, President of the Croatian Port Authorities Association, and will be published on the social media channels of Risposte Turismo from Monday, May 8.

The complete Adriatic Sea Forum 2023 program is available at the following link.

The Greek Travel Pages (GTP) is a communication sponsor of the 6th Adriatic Sea Forum.