When boarding ferries between Greek islands this summer, which scenario sounds more appealing? Looking for the whole family’s paper tickets that are deep down in someone’s travel bag as people are lining up impatiently behind you – just to realize one is missing! Or, confidently heading to the ferry, pulling out your mobile, displaying all your electronic tickets at once, and walking right in. For us, there is a clear winner. Having an eTicket on hand just makes everything so much easier.
Another frustrating yet common situation is having to pick up your ferry tickets from a ticket booth at the port (also referred to as a central agency). When it comes to getting your physical ferry tickets, the options right now are to either stop by the Ferryscanner office in downtown Athens at some point ahead of your trip or get them from the port before boarding the ferry. Most of the time when our customers book with a ferry company that only offers paper tickets, picking them up at the port is what they decide since they are going there anyway. Don’t be fooled though! It’s not nearly as simple or stress-free as it sounds.
If there happens to be traffic or you’re running late for some reason, you might not have enough time to get to the ticket booth – especially if you aren’t sure where it is. Unfortunately, they aren’t always clearly marked or located in front of the ferry. Especially on the islands. Also, keep in mind that some of them may charge additional fees for printing out your ferry tickets. This usually comes as an unwelcome surprise to many travellers, who rightfully assume they have already paid the full extent of their ticket. When stuck in this situation while the clock is ticking and your ship is about to depart, there isn’t any other option except to pay the extra charge.
Additionally, having many people queue up in front of a ticket booth, all in a frantic hurry to catch their ferry makes social distancing difficult. With Covid-19 still in our lives, it’s best to avoid crowds and keep a safe distance from each other as much as possible. Ask yourself, why wait in line at all? Why go through all this hassle? Instead, you could just leave the house, go straight to the ship, and have your electronic tickets on your mobile for quick and easy access.
An electronic ticket or eTicket (also written as an e-ticket, E-Ticket, Eticket, etc.) carries the exact same information as a paper ticket would while simultaneously offering many more benefits.
Today in Greece, there is no clear legislation when it comes to ferry companies offering their passengers electronic tickets. There are some companies that use them (Blue Star Ferries, Minoan Lines, Seajets, Golden Star Ferries, Saronic Ferries, Alpha Lines, Hellenic Seaways, Fast Ferries, Aegean Speed Lines…).
However, even the ferry companies that currently offer eTickets are not completely committed. Instead, they are using a hybrid solution wherein if any cancellation or change to the booking is needed, we travel agencies must print out the paper tickets (or get them back if they have been printed already) and send them by mail to the ferry companies.
Other Greek ferry companies absolutely refuse to even use a hybrid model and want to stay stuck in the 1990s. Most remain in a legal grey area about issuing eTickets because the rules are inherently unclear. Whatever the reason, we are now living in 2022, and it’s officially time for a legislative change.
As a country that benefits so greatly from tourism, Greece should try to make it easier for tourists to come and help boost the economy. Currently, 1/3 of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) comes from tourism – and that number could surely be even higher if basic tools were utilized to simplify existing processes. It’s important to take advantage of the technology at our disposal. For instance, making electronic ferry tickets the norm for travellers.
Whether you’re staying in the Argo-Saronic group, island hopping between the Cyclades, venturing east over to the Dodecanese or heading south to hang out in Crete – having everything you need for every destination on your mobile would make the journey so much more enjoyable.
Due to the pandemic and subsequent nationwide lockdowns, during 2021 we saw a digital transformation happen in Greece. To everyone’s surprise, many citizen services quickly went online and were extremely successful in doing so. It was helpful for everyone and long overdue. Now in the new era of everything in Greece going online, ferry travel should follow suit.
As a formal appeal to the Greek government, we strongly believe they should make electronic ferry tickets the mandatory way to travel. If digitization is in fact a priority, it only makes sense that ferry travel is included. After all, it is a huge part of Greece’s tourism and transport industries. Going online would certainly streamline the use of ferries in every part of the country. We urge the Greek National Tourism Organization to weigh the pros and cons of only using electronic tickets and have all ferry companies be aligned in doing so. It would undoubtedly only improve the current situation.
At Ferryscanner we have the pleasure of speaking to both ferry passengers and ferry companies. We hear from both sides, and function as the go-between for these two parties in order to help facilitate fantastic ferry trips. Questions from customers about why paper tickets are still required come in often. We always explain to them we completely agree that eTickets are the preferable option in every aspect, but the decision is left up to the ferry company.
Also in the rare case of someone not having a smartphone and/or actually preferring paper tickets, if eTickets were mandatory they could just print what they need from their email. Exactly like they would do to travel by airplane.
From our perspective as a travel agency, making electronic ferry tickets required for all Greek ferry companies is the only logical move. Similar to how things evolved with air travel, opting for electronic tickets has revolutionized that industry. Just imagine if a few major airlines decided they didn’t want to be digital! There’s no justifiable reason to stay offline. The same should apply to ferry companies. Converting to eTickets makes things so much easier for both sides of the operation. It would simplify the ticket issuing and amendment processes for us as well as boarding and coordination for the passengers and ferry company.
Visiting the thousands of incredible destinations Greece has to offer around the islands and on the mainland would be more efficient for everyone involved if their ferry tickets were electronic. Having only eTickets would also require every ferry company to operate the same way. In turn, helping travel agencies and ferry passengers. Now, even if a ferry company offers electronic web check-in before the trip, there are one or two (ex: Fast Ferries) that still require passengers to print off the ticket before boarding.
What are the benefits of using electronic tickets?
These are some of the most important benefits for making the switch to exclusively using eTickets. While many good reasons have already been mentioned above, here is a more concise list.
Boost Tourism
Offering only electronic ferry tickets will undoubtedly help grow tourism in Greece because it will simplify the booking process for every ferry company and allow people to book trips further in advance. eTickets will also help facilitate tourism since visitors from abroad can easily make reservations online from afar without any language/currency barrier.
Impossible to Lose
If a traveller has printed their eTicket and it gets lost, it’s not a problem. They can reprint it (or just use the ticket/boarding pass on their mobile). On the contrary with physical paper tickets, there is only one version. Therefore, if the ticket gets lost then the customer would also lose all their money and need to book a whole new ticket.
No Shipping
Paper tickets need to be shipped to customers, which takes time and can be costly. This is especially the case for foreign customers when we ship our ferry tickets from Greece to abroad. It’s also risky in case the mail is running slow or gets lost, the customer wouldn’t get their tickets or be able to travel. For eTickets though, they will arrive in your inbox mere moments after the booking is completed, and will stay there safely waiting to be displayed whenever needed.
No Port Pick Up
Going to the port to pick up ferry tickets is something that currently causes confusion for many travellers. Specifically for foreigners that are visiting from abroad and aren’t sure where to go or how much time they need. In a large port like Piraeus for example, there are tons of ticket offices for many ferry companies and there are also lots of people all rushing to find their way. This port pick up process is something that happens at the last minute and doesn’t leave much room for error. Booking your trip months in advance and then arriving at the busy port the day of departure with one hour to spare, trying desperately to figure out where to go, just to find a huge queue at the ticket booth – it’s risky and certain to cause stress. If you have an eTicket, that can all be totally avoided. Just make sure you have your mobile and you can go directly to the ferry.
Easily Amend Trip
If a customer wants to cancel their ferry tickets or make a change to their reservation, using paper tickets is very inconvenient. In these situations, the travel agency needs to get the tickets back before we can process any refunds. Meaning, the customer would need to either bring the tickets to our office or physically send them by mail/courier. If the booking is all electronic, the amendment can be made immediately in our system and the new ferry tickets will be emailed right away.
Environmentally Friendly
Constantly printing paper tickets that are only used once or twice is wasteful. In addition to the countless trees being cut down, there is also an overt amount of printer toner and electricity used. Implementing only eTickets would have a much lower and less harmful impact on the environment.
Save Time and Space
Currently, all travel agencies and ferry companies in Greece are required to collect and store the physical paper tickets which is inefficient, labor-intensive, time-consuming, and expensive. Having only digital files and records would make things easy to organize and inexpensive to maintain.
For the above reasons and more, in 2022 Greece needs to stop using paper tickets for ferry travel and make electronic tickets mandatory. In addition to reducing paper and reducing costs, eTickets would also reduce time wasted (by the traveller during booking, the travel agency during processing, and the ferry company during boarding). They are simply easier and better for everyone involved. It’s time to join the rest of the world in the digital space and implement electronic ferry tickets as the required way to ride a Greek ferry. Welcome aboard!