By Vicky Kourlimbini
“We estimate that this summer season will be close to pre-crisis levels. Greek destinations are among the most popular destinations in Europe this year, especially in the Scandinavian countries, Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland. Demand is particularly high. Holidays in Crete, Rhodes and Kos. In Spain, Mallorca and the Canary Islands have the first say, as well as bookings in Turkey, mainly in Antalya, so far. of TUI “.
The first tourists are already getting on the plane to Greece, even earlier than originally expected. The appetite for a vacation after two years of pandemic seems to be more than enough – for now at least – the increase in inflation and the insecurity of the Russian-Ukrainian war, with Greece appearing in the first places in the travel options offered by the major tour operators in Europe.
The TUI bet
The German group of TUI has already opened this year’s tourist season for Greece. Europe’s largest tour operator aims to transport 3 million tourists from all European markets (mainly from Great Britain, Belgium, France, the Nordic countries and the Netherlands) to Greek destinations this year, a record number , a bet that, as the group states, will be won.
It is characteristic that as of this month TUI launches 62 additional scheduled flights from Germany to Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, Kos and the Peloponnese, reaching a total of 40,000 flights at 19 Greek airports. 9,000 take-offs and landings are planned throughout Europe from and to Crete alone. Other airports are Samos, Skiathos and Zakynthos.
The season started with the landing of a TUI fly aircraft at the “Nikos Kazantzakis” airport of Heraklion. This year’s tourist season started four weeks earlier than in previous years, due to the high demand recorded in package bookings.
The group, as it states, offers this year in Greece the largest program in volume of all times, offering 4,500 hotels in 24 Greek destinations. It is noted that the group owns about 40 hotels operating under the TUI brand, such as Robinson, TUI Magic Life, TUI Blue, TUI Suneo and TUI Kids Clubs. This year, two five-star hotels were added to Greece, the TUI Blue Sensatori Atlantica Caldera Palace in Crete and the TUI Blue Sensatori Atlantica Dreams Resort in Rhodes.
The group has a large presence in the Greek seas, as the cruise program of TUI Cruises started early, with seven ships of the fleet Mein Schiff and five ships of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. On April 3, the “Mein Schiff 5” departed from Heraklion with about 1,650 passengers for the first cruise to the Greek islands this year.
What the FTI sees
And the other big German tour operator, FTI, not only finds high demand for holidays in Greece, but characterizes the country as the hottest destination in its program this year.
Last year, the FTI started the holidays in the Greek islands on May 14. The travel group has, in fact, expanded its portfolio by 20% compared to 2019. About 80 hotels, including the Labranda and Kairaba brands, were open in Crete, Kos, Corfu and Rhodes. The tour operator also had more charter flights to Rhodes, Kos and Corfu, which are among the most popular destinations in the packages it offers.
The FTI plans this year to expand the flight schedule to Greek airports, while it also sees an extension of the tourist season until November.
The positions are increasing
According to the recovery tracker of the Institute of the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises, with data from the travel data measurement company OAG, in the week from April 4 to 10, 270,000 flights from abroad were planned, increased by 12% compared to last week (March 28 to April 3, where we had 241,000 scheduled seats on incoming international flights). The following week is even better, with a further increase of 16% and 313,000 seats from abroad, a fact that shows the increase in demand and the growing appetite for holidays, which are also seen by factors of the tourist area.
The main markets – tourist “tanks” include Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Cyprus, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Turkey, Belgium, Romania, Austria, the USA, Spain, Poland and the United Arab Emirates.
Respectively, at the main reception airports, Athens comes first, followed by Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Corfu, Rhodes, Chania, Santorini, Mykonos and Kos.
There are no cancellations, the freeze on bookings continues
For its part, the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises, in a first assessment of the tourist season, notes that there are no cancellations in hotels that open due to the war, but there is a delay in bookings. For example, the German market has not yet “moved forward”, but the same is not the case with the United Kingdom, which is moving upwards. Referring to the tourist demand for Greece this year, the president of SETE noted that there is a significant increase in airline seats for the summer. The slots are increased compared to 2019, which shows the dynamics.
Source: Capital
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
