Bridging Sea and Sky: How Coastal Shipping Infrastructure Relates to Air Tourism in Insular Greece

This study examines how coastal shipping infrastructure is associated with air tourism development in insular Greece from 2010 to 2024. A multi-model quantitative approach combining Discriminant Function Analysis, Multinomial Logistic Regression, and Fixed-Effects Panel Regression is used to assess relationships between coastal passenger traffic, weekly ferry frequency, ferry type, regional population, and port capacity. Results indicate that air tourist arrivals were strongly associated with coastal passenger traffic (CPT), with particularly pronounced effects observed in the Attica hub, alongside notable regional and seasonal variability. Port capacity and regional population emerged as structural indicators associated with higher levels of air arrival intensity across islands, while weekly ferry frequency and seasonality explained variation over time.