FDI: The resilience of Greek hospitality and the return of the industry to better than expected levels

The resilience of the Greek hospitality and the return of the industry to better than expected levels, are reflected in the results of the Survey: “Weekly Price Evolution and Completeness Period June-October 2021”, conducted by the Institute of Tourism Research and Forecasting Chamber of Greece (XEE).

According to the findings of the research, the recovery of tourism was not horizontal and the duration of this year’s tourist season in Greece was short-lived. As even the European Travel Commission (ETC) states in its report yesterday, a substantial market recovery will not be achieved before 2024.

In particular, the study of the Institute recorded that the average occupancy of open seasonal hotels reached a peak of 83.7% per week from 9 to 15 August, with the continuously operating units during the same period being 70.8%.

At the same time, the average occupancy of hotels (with reduction in the total hotel potential, ie taking into account the closed hotels) reached 74.8% in August when in the corresponding period of 2020 the occupancy in the country’s hotels reached 29.8%, a result which justifies the state decision to open tourism in the middle of last May.

Especially for the month of September, the occupancy rate averaged 58.4%. It is noted that the occupancy of September started from relatively high levels, to eventually reach 58%, due to the gradual closure of hotels in the region, but also the low occupancy of Attica units which are still far from their normal performance, September – October as business travel, conferences and exhibition markets have not yet recovered. On average, in October in Crete and the South Aegean Islands, the occupancy rate reached 58.9% and 55.7% respectively, a percentage that shows that in these areas a shift of the tourist season was recorded, since the season actually started at the beginning of July.

According to the survey, the 4 and 5 star hotels showed the highest occupancy throughout most of the tourist season. It is pointed out of course that 76% of Greek hotels belong to the categories 3, 2 and 1 stars.

At the same time it was found that the highest performance was recorded in the regions of Crete and the South Aegean.

We got a “rebound” better than expected. And this is not just about August. The value of this “rebound” is already visible in the tourist revenues and will be seen even further in the public revenues of the state and in the pockets of the citizens, in view of a difficult winter. One winter with the challenges following one another, as is happening now, with the rapid increase in the number of cases and the consequent outbreak of the pandemic, with the international crisis of energy costs and the strong price trends in products.

For the second consecutive year, the Greek hoteliers worked methodically and coordinated under unprecedented circumstances, reacting immediately to the health challenges. The image of our country has been strengthened and this is reflected in the strong demand for 2022. But we must not forget that the challenges are here and we have before us 6 months of uncertainty and hard work on two strategic axes:

– Continue to support businesses still affected by the effects of the pandemic – the European state aid framework has also been extended until June 2022 for this purpose. The lifting of support measures cannot and should not be horizontal in an environment with a complete lack of advances and hotel categories continuing to operate poorly in cities and mountains.

– The long-term planning in order to build the next day of hospitality, is of strategic importance for the country’s physiognomy, its stable and sustainable development, its human resources, the sustainable and climate neutral nature of its economy, the innovation of its services and the quality of her daily life.

At XEE, with confidence in the country’s potential, we believe that substantial investment in hospitality, people and infrastructure, paves the way for recovery, paves the way for a sustainable economy, with the leading role of hospitality in a changing Greece, is upgrading and knows how to win in global competition “.