The southeastern Aegean island of Kasos, which, contrary to other islands in the region, has been left almost empty of visitors due to recent ship route disruptions, will be linked by ferry to the port of Piraeus as of Friday, according to sources from the Shipping Ministry. 

The news comes as the islands of the south Aegean are experiencing “the best July ever” in terms of tourist arrivals. The route from Piraeus will probably be carried out by the Preveli ferryboat. 

In comments to newspaper Kathimerini, a Shipping Ministry official said it will immediately issue a call for tenders in order to find a contractor, but at this time of year few ships are available to schedule new routes. Kasos is connected to Sitia on Crete and Rhodes, but what is needed is a direct ferry connection from the capital at the peak of the summer season. 

In the meantime, tourist traffic on the island has already been hit, said Kasos Mayor Michalis Erotokritos. The ferry connection problem that has arisen in the last two weeks for Kasos was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The island is far away anyway and it takes between 19 and 23 hours to reach by boat from Athens. There is no direct route and the cost of tickets, especially this year, is extremely high. 

Meanwhile, arrivals at the five international airports of the south Aegean islands (Kos, Rhodes, Mykonos, Santorini and Karpathos) have exceeded even the most optimistic forecasts. With the peak months of the tourist season coming up, arrivals to the islands of the Cyclades and Dodecanese have already exceed 2 million (2,046,335) through 13,006 direct international flights from the beginning of the tourist season until July 10.

This article was previously published at ekathimerini.com.