Roughly speaking, there is a large increase in the “boulevards” of tourism at the dawn of summer, while at the same time, however, turnovers in restaurants and shops are down, when turnovers in supermarkets are moving upwards thanks to Airbnb and tourist homes.
It is a given that so far the profits in short-term leases, as well as the gross income of most hotels, are up.
Two-speed destinations are recorded for another year in Greek tourism.
Down again this year is Mykonos, which is paying the “marble” of the lack of promotion in recent years, Santorini is problematic, Pelion is on the edge of a razor’s edge, Rhodes and Chania are up. Everyone is hoping for a longer season to make up for the July losses.
In detail, the data regarding the course of the tourist season to date are contradictory, as, while the initial forecasts for a record year, in terms of arrivals and revenues, are confirmed, although this is not widely reflected in all the businesses that make up the puzzle of tourism in the country.
A decisive factor is the reduction of tourism costs, which are no longer spread across all levels of society and the economy.
Inflation and precision, which continue to limit the real incomes of Greeks and Europeans as a whole in the last two and a half years or so, have caused significant changes in the mix of expenditures.
According to data from the Bank of Greece, the five-month average spend of non-resident travelers in Greece fell by 3.6% compared to last year. This is combined with price increases in accommodation and catering, which are even more felt by guests.
ELSTAT found that the prices of air tickets have increased by 18.4% compared to last year, overnight prices of accommodation by 12.6%, package holidays by 7.5% and catering by 6.6%.
As mentioned above, organized retail businesses, such as supermarkets and mini markets, stand out as winners from the change in trend. At the same time, restaurants and shops are taking a hard hit, due to the limited purchasing power of tourists, who are drastically reducing unnecessary expenses, while operating costs are skyrocketing, adding to the pressure.
Therefore, the performance of hotels, despite the increase in prices, is not the same, as they face tough competition from Airbnb, which attracts a large number of visitors.
This image is also confirmed by the president of POX, Mr. Yiannis Hatzis, who specifically mentions: “In the areas that are on track to achieve a new record, the performance of airports with high mobility stands out (Mytilini +47.6%, Fraport Greece, July 2024 ). On the contrary, more popular airports show a decrease in arrivals (Mykonos -5.2%). The six-month dynamics with a 15.5% increase in arrivals and 12.2% in receipts (CoE data) is not followed respectively by the average travel expenditure, which fell by -3.1%. It is not even reflected in hotel occupancy rates, with variations even in the same destination.
We are seeing a slight increase in preference for lower-end accommodation, while consumer fatigue in key markets has affected the July-August booking rate in more expensive holiday destinations. The short-term rental to which a significant proportion of arrivals is directed has significantly degraded the indicators of expenditure per visitor, as shown by the figures of average expenditure per capita, a decline which is particularly evident in the focus.
This mixed picture in an international environment of uncertainty and geopolitical conflicts confronts us with challenges at a critical crossroads. It invites us to make decisions about the competitiveness of the Greek tourist product. As for the extension of the season, it is still early to achieve this goal.”
On the same wavelength and the vice-president of the XEE, Mrs. Christina Tetradis, who underlined that the sign for the course of tourism in Zakynthos and in general in the Ionian Islands will be determined by the course in September and October, given that May was difficult in terms of hotels, compared to last year’s levels.
The picture was better in July and, notably, in August, during which occupancy rates hovered close to 100%, an improvement largely due, he pointed out, to last-minute bookings and the special offer regime.
Two more points highlighted by Mrs. Tetradis concern the drastic reduction of overnight stays for visitors, as many tourists now choose even a 3-day stay, but also the limited purchasing power of foreign visitors, which caused problems for businesses, mainly catering, as even expensive restaurants have been forced to reformulate their menus in order to cut operating costs.
The president of the Association of Hoteliers, Mr. Giorgos Zafeiris, mentioned the special difficulties facing the region of Magnesia. As he pointed out, “after the disastrous consequences of the floods of last September, the hopes of hoteliers and businesses to balance the losses this summer evaporated, as by mid-July the bookings moved to -40%. The only ray of light is September and October, which are expected to do better. Increased operating costs and the denial of their expectations of a positive summer heighten concerns about the future, while they have received no compensation for lost income from the floods.”
“Combined with the defamation that the Prefecture of Magnesia has suffered – and continues – regarding the suitability of the waters of Pagasitikos, the winter is written off as uncertain”, he concluded.
Jump in tourist receipts, to 6.9 billion in 6 months
The increase recorded by tourist receipts in the first half of the year is great, as they reached 6.9 billion euros or 12.2% higher than the corresponding period of 2023, which shows the positive course for Greek tourism. However, this is due to the rise in the number of tourists, as the average spend is down compared to last year.
According to the Bank of Greece, on average a tourist spent 570 euros from 588 euros in the corresponding period last year, while in 2022 it reached 607 euros. Especially for June, the first month of summer, the average expenditure this year was 638 euros, last year it was at 647 euros and in 2022 at 671 euros.
Regarding the most important countries of origin of travelers from the euro area, receipts from Germany fell by 1.4% to €522.9 million, while receipts from France increased by 1.0% to €163 .9 million euros. Receipts from Italy also rose by 12.9%, reaching 144.9 million euros.
From the other countries, receipts from the United Kingdom showed an increase of 42.5%, which amounted to 608.9 million euros, while receipts from the USA decreased by 32.8% and amounted to 143.1 million. euro. Finally, receipts from Russia fell by 60.2% to 2.5 million euros.
During this period, non-resident traveler arrivals increased by 15.5%. In other words, a greater increase in arrivals than revenues is recorded.
The passenger plane took off airport traffic in the 7th month
A rise of 9.5% compared to last year results in the seven-month passenger traffic of the year 2024 for all of the country’s airports where commercial flights are conducted, according to the provisional statistics of the Civil Aviation Service.
In particular, the total number of passengers in the period January-July 2024 reached 42,538,219, compared to 38,833,074 passengers in the corresponding period January-July 2023.
Regarding the number of aircraft movements (domestic and international aircraft arrivals and departures), in the seven-month period there was an increase of 6.9%. In particular, 328,272 flights were carried out, compared to 306,982 flights in the seven months of 2023.
At the same time, the Airdata Tracker calculates that for August the scheduled air seats to our country amount to 5.15 million, increased by 8.4% compared to August 2023.
Given that road tourism in the country also shows a double-digit increase compared to last year, market players estimate that this year the goal of tourist arrivals in the country of 35 million tourists will be achieved, compared to 32.7 million in 2023 and tourist receipts of at least 21 billion . euros, from 20.46 billion euros in 2023.
Museums were crowded and archaeological sites in the 4th month
The picture for the traffic in museums and archaeological sites in the four months is also particularly positive, according to data from ELSTAT.
In particular, in the four months of January-April 2024, an increase was observed, compared to the corresponding period of 2023, by 24.9% in museum visitors, by 13.9% in free admission visitors and by 27.2% in the corresponding receipts.
In the same period, the archaeological sites recorded an increase compared to the corresponding period of the year 2023 by 31.6% in visitors, by 34.7% in free entry visitors and by 29.1% in the corresponding receipts.
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