Mediterranean Cruise Trips at 'Half Price'...Tourists Flock During Winter Off-Season

"Winter Cruise Travel Packages Up 23% in 4 Years"
"Fewer Tourists and Lower Costs"

Demand for winter cruise trips in the Mediterranean, one of Europe's representative summer vacation destinations, is increasing. As it is the off-season, the number of tourists is low, making it peaceful, and travel costs are also cheap, attracting popularity, leading the cruise industry to expand related products.

The New York Times (NYT) recently reported, "Due to summer overtourism and heatwaves, more tourists are finding the appeal of off-season tourism in Europe." According to data from the Cruise Lines Industry Association, the number of cruise travel products departing in the off-season in the Mediterranean increased by 23% last year compared to 2019.

Reuters Yonhap News

Samuel Spencer, who runs a travel agency in Alberta, Canada, said, "As the number of cruise ships increases and the tourism industry grows, more people want to visit the Mediterranean in the summer when it is not crowded with tourists."

Viking Cruises, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, was the first company to design Mediterranean cruise trips in 2015. Viking Cruises docks three cruise ships in the Mediterranean during the winter, and plans to expand this to five ships for the 2025-2026 winter season. The lowest price for 21 winter season Mediterranean tourism products traveling between Venice, Italy, and Athens, Greece, is $2,999 (about 4.23 million KRW), which is more than 40% cheaper than the summer season product price ($5,299).

Richard Manel, Vice President of Marketing at Viking Cruises, said, "In the past, tourists were thought to prefer traveling to the Mediterranean during warm weather," adding, "Now, products are being prepared for retirees and others who can use their time freely to travel in the off-season."

European cruise companies also expanded winter Mediterranean products while urgently reorganizing Middle Eastern tourism products after the military conflict between Israel and Hamas began last year. One cruise company quickly created a Mediterranean product traveling between Rome, Italy, and Barcelona, Spain, and released it in December last year, successfully attracting tourists enough to generate profits in a short period. This company has released additional Mediterranean-related products for this winter, pricing them at about half the cost of summer products.

Small cruise specialist travel agencies have also extended the period for offering existing summer tourism products over the past three years, designing tourism products from April to November. Although they are more affected by weather than large cruises and it is difficult to operate in midwinter, they are adjusting the period considering the demand for tourism during less crowded times.

The NYT reported, "When traveling in the off-season like winter, there is a tendency to prefer major cities that are easy to access by air, such as Barcelona or Rome, and are relatively inexpensive," but also noted, "Visiting the Mediterranean in the off-season means some tourist sites like wineries are difficult to visit, so compromises must be made to some extent."