The first dissemination event "Sea Transportation as an urban transport means and a new tourism product" was held in Thessaloniki on the 20th of March 2019. Representatives of the European Investment Bank, the Hellenic Institute of Transport, the Thessaloniki Transport Authority, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the Press, Municipalities of the Metropolitan area of Thessaloniki and stakeholders from maritime associations were present in the event participating in a fruitful discussion at the end of the event.
“Urban Sea Transportation emerges as a modern and attractive urban service as an alternative way for regular users but also from the city’s visitors and tourists to travel. The Major Development Agency of Thessaloniki wishes to promote the sea transportation as means of urban travel but also as a tourist product, proposing new stops of light construction, for the connection of the sea transportation network with the main transport hubs of the city such as the airport, harbor, subway, western suburban railway” said the Managing Director of MDAT, Mr Chrysostomos Kalogirou.
Also, the Senior Adviser – Local Coordinator in Greece for the European Investment Bank (EIB), Ms. Eleni Gioti, presented the activities of the EIB Group, the priority funding areas and the Group's actions in Greece. Focusing on the transport sector, she referred to the eligibility criteria for funding and the transport advisory support service of EIB.
A discussion followed among the participants where it was clearly stated that Sea Transportation as an urban means of travel is considered a quite expensive investment but with several environmental benefits if other are be addressed in parallel; intermodality, low carbon and e-mobility transport means, as well as behavioral change of the local population and promotion of sea transportation as tourism product, must also be considered in the development of the local feasibility study and action plan of the MDAT within the framework of the DESTI-SMART project.
Following the dissemination event, Mr. Kalogirou and Ms Anthi Tsakiropoulou, Head of the Urban Resilience Department, were invited in a television broadcast where they presented the DESTI-SMART project, its objectives and the vision of MDAT to develop the urban sea transportation in Thessaloniki (https://webtv.ert.gr/ert3/me-to-tria/20mar2019-me-to-tria/).
For more information follow the link: https://www.grtimes.gr/simantika/i-thessaloniki-mporei-kai-thalassia-astiki-sygkoinonia-video?fbclid=IwAR15gpU3MZ98V7-RolrIgfLGd_Ll48YNx9Rof2w8NeuCmRUE-JUO0DcfWOA
