The Island in Lake Pamvotida is probably the most popular destination on the list of every tourist or traveler visiting Ioannina. How many visit it each year?
Valid visitor log data does not exist. This is because there is a regime of exemption for boat tickets from VAT reporting (boat operators on the Island pay VAT based on the annual flat rate VAT and are exempt from issuing service receipts).
However, it is estimated that 200,000 visitors make the 10-minute journey to and from the Island every year. Fourteen boats (so far) over 40 years old, perform 7,300 routes per year.
These elements were presented at least in a series of workshops-events organized these days by the Epirus Protected Areas Management Unit of the Natural Environment and Climate Change Organization (OFYPEKA) in Ioannina. Management studies for Pamvotida were presented in these days, such as for the determination of the ecological level and for the management of visitors.
Among other things, the question of the carrying capacity of the lake, in terms of boats, was raised. There was no answer to the question “how many boats fit in the lake”. The researchers concluded that the lake “supports” six boats, simultaneously in the lake – three on the Molos-Nisi “line” and another three on the “Perama-Nisi” line, which does not exist today.
It is interesting to point out that the lake boats, according to the law, cannot be converted exclusively to electric motors, because they are classified as passenger and not tourist. The researchers propose hybrid boats.
It is recalled that a month before the national elections, the former Deputy Minister of Environment Giorgos Amyras had committed to the Prime Minister for the allocation of one million euros for the installation of electric motors on the boats…
Otherwise, the study highlighted everything that has been observed: that there are no organized boarding/disembarking areas for visitors, that there is no organized boat maintenance area (carnagio), that there is no proper organization for the management of visitors. Notably, in this direction and to avoid over-concentration of visitors to the Pier, the issuance of an electronic ticket would help…
