Three days with full hotels, but the look at price increases

By Vicky Kourlimbini

The fullness recorded during these three days, the first after a difficult winter, is reminiscent of pre-Covid eras in popular destinations, both near and far. Good weather ally for hoteliers, catering entrepreneurs and local economies.

However, the sharp rise in fuel prices, rising operating costs of businesses and shrinking household disposable income due to the price hikes brought about by the Russian-Ukrainian war have made the tourism market reluctant to expect a runaway in the coming months. frequent.

Indicatively, in Arachova the occupancy exceeds 80%. Today, the occupancy reaches 90% in Trikala, Corinth, over 70% in Pelion, Zagorochoria and Karpenisi. High occupancy is also recorded in Nafplio and in the destinations of Messinian Mani. In Kalavrita, according to the hoteliers, the occupancy reached 85%.

Rates that would be even higher as hoteliers estimate if the cost of travel had not skyrocketed. There are also bookings that were canceled at the last minute, as they note, as the families preferred to finally save the money they would give for the three-day vacation. There are of course those who preferred to visit cottages, places of origin and friendly houses.

The problems

Tourism entrepreneurs are turning their attention to the next day, in terms of domestic tourism. They note that under the current circumstances, the traffic during the Easter period will not be as expected, as well as the cost of ferry and air tickets will be higher.

The sizes for the hotel industry of Thessaloniki continue with difficulty in March, as noted by the Hoteliers Association of the co-capital. “Extremely limited revenues on the one hand, due to the very low occupancy throughout this winter – a result of pandemic conditions and more – and the unprecedented increase in energy costs combined with the rise in raw material prices, on the other hand, have brings to the hotel companies of the area an unprecedented uncertainty for their survival “, explain the hoteliers of Thessaloniki.

Recently the Institute for Tourism Research and Forecasting had made it public the performance of hotels from December to February. In this quarter, 79.3% of the hotels were open, while 1 in 5 did not work, choosing to remain closed.

The average occupancy rate in open hotels was 28.2%, which with the reduction of all hotels in continuous operation, becomes 21.3%. The average price of a double room was 48 euros.