What do we expect from tourism this year?

By Vicky Kourlimbini

“We continue to move in uncharted waters.” With this phrase, the president of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises, Giannis Retsos, began the evaluation of the past season and the assessments for the one that begins, speaking yesterday at a press conference.

This is a year that is considered unpredictable in terms of arrivals and revenues and it is considered that once again we will have “last minute” bookings.

Continuous reversals

“The pandemic in these two years has changed many things. In 2020, 75% of tourism income was lost compared to 2019, 40% in 2021,” he noted. “In the early spring of 2021 we considered it a success to capture 40% of the 2019 revenue, but then things changed for the better in the third quarter.”

However, the positive momentum was reversed again, as Mr. Retsos explained, as due to the Omicron mutation, travel restrictions and measures for the pandemic were maintained.

“As we spent the winter, countries began to take action which led to a very significant booking dynamic mainly from the UK market, which was followed by other markets. The evolution of bookings for 2022 was very positive at the beginning of the year, however from “The experience we gained during these two years did not make any predictions. All this had created a very good dynamic in all parts of the country, even in the urban centers,” he continued.

The Russo-Ukrainian war changed the data again, bringing a freeze on bookings. “There was and there is a relative freeze. And if the war had not taken place we would be in a year of Covid 19. That means we would still have last minute bookings, albeit to a lesser extent than before.”

At the moment, however, there are no cancellations, he stressed, in the hotels that have already opened and in what is being prepared.

“The freeze does not mean that it will overturn the year as well,” predicted the president of SETE.

Concern for accuracy

“The problem is not so much the war, but the inflation that worries us the most. It is the accuracy, the increase in basic necessities, the disruption of the supply chain,” he said.

“How much will it affect things this year? We will see that more in 2023.”

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 “.

In terms of moving markets, the news is positive from the United Kingdom and the Nordic countries. There is a wait-and-see attitude from Germany, while the Polish market is in trouble, which for Greek tourism had started to rise, as the country has received a large number of refugees from Ukraine.

Special mention was made of the contribution of Greek tourism to GDP, through the creation of more than 50,000 jobs in 2022, and the strengthening of the extroversion of the Greek economy. As the President of SETE stated, “tourism is a catalyst for the reduction of unemployment in the country”.

Emphasizing the need for the existence and implementation of long-term strategic planning for the Greek tourism sector, with emphasis on synergies and cooperation with the Regions, the President of SETE announced the presentation of the National Plan 2030 for Tourism, within the Delphi Economic Forum VIII, stating that “The National Plan 2030 paves the way for the next day of Greek tourism”.

Source: Capital

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