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Seven out of ten ports in Greece have no infrastructure for cruise ships and only one of ten ports has an electronic guide for destinations. 50% are those with no lavatories and ticket selling offices far from the platforms and the ships do not have passengers as they change their mind at the last minute. Those are just some of the conclusions from the analyses of the laboratory to study the ports to the National Technical University. The university studied 93 Greek ports and assessed the level and the quality of the services they offer.

Tourism has contributed to the Greek economy about 18% of GDP in 2010. The ports throughout the country are crucial, given that the Greek islands are the most exciting for the tourists after the Acropolis. Very few of them have modern airports and therefore travelling by water is more popular. The port itself is the first place that tourists see at the beginning of their holiday and the impression, which it leaves in people, could be crucial to their attitude towards a particular location.

Moreover, the study found that in almost 50% of the cases there is not an urban or interurban transport station near the ports and tourists are forced to use the services of a taxi or to walk a long distance to the first bus stop. There is imminent danger of an accident in 22% of the cases due to the way passengers get on or off the board, and problems in loading and unloading operations are established in 50.5% of the ports.

Almost in seven out of ten ports, there are no ramps to facilitate the movement of people with disabilities, and there is no car parking in 42.1%. There is no good lighting at around 20 ports and more than half of them have no closed or partially closed spaces for the persons waiting or meeting someone. In 11.6% of the ports, problems are encountered in the channels to the sea. There were serious and not so serious accidents at the exit of 22.1% of the ports in the last year. There were accidents inside the port in one of every four ports and the same number of coastal stations, which have serious problems with security.

The analysis of the Greek ports notes that 85% have no equipment to monitor the pollution of port waters, and almost 60% have ineffective fire protection. One of every three ports has the resources and equipment to combat pollution. In 14.7% of the studied cases, objects that would constitute a direct threat to ships and anchors under water are found and in 72.6% of the inspected ports, it was found that ships are not safe and could cause damage in the event of a storm.
 
In four out of ten cases studied, there is not enough distance between two ships at the ports, which forms a jam. More than 80% of the ports have no good external protection from waves and consequently, there is delay in the fueling of ships in about 50% of the cases. "This year's survey found many technical problems in local ports and minimal progress in the problems of past years as a result of insufficient state funding, despite the promises given in the past," said the teacher at the Technical University Kostadinos Moudzouris. He stresses that the biggest problems relate to the inefficient infrastructure and the inability to accept cruise passengers.

Besides the numerous problems that the analysis of the state of Greek ports reveals, tourists could face another strike this summer, which would spoil their summer vacation. The Panhellenic Seamen's Federation is expected to decide on Thursday this week whether to block key Greek ports as part of their fight against the cuts in their pensions by 6% and their requirements for additional social security benefits.