“For island Greece, the issue of the cost of ferry transport is a matter of vital importance, while the same applies to our tourism,” points out the Member of Parliament for the Dodecanese, Mr. Manos Konsolas, who proceeded to a parliamentary intervention to the Ministers of Shipping and Finance, proposing specific measures so that citizens do not have to bear the burden of the increase in the price of ferry tickets due to the new EU environmental regulation.
Mr. Konsolas emphasizes that pressure is rightly being exerted on ferry companies in order to create new discount packages for families or for specific categories of citizens, but the need for state intervention also arises.
The MP of the Dodecanese proposes measures such as:
1st: Subsidizing the cost difference in the new fuel in order to avoid increases in ticket prices or alternatively providing a discount, at the level of absorption of the increase, for the residents of the islands.
– Reducing VAT on tickets for either vehicles or passengers.
Today, VAT on a passenger ferry ticket is 13%, while in Italy, it is 10%, and in other countries, it is even lower, reaching 5%. Such a measure will boost domestic tourism to the islands as well as tourist traffic on the islands served by ferry transport.
– Inclusion of the concept of dual insularity in the context of state aid so that intra-island ferry transport tickets can be subsidized for permanent residents of the islands.
As Mr. Konsolas stated, permanent residents of the islands are forced to choose intra-island travel for medical reasons or to carry out administrative matters.
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