“Street musicians take to the streets, hotels and archeological sites are full, shopkeepers are smiling and good luck if you are looking for a table in a decent restaurant”: the British newspaper Guardian hosts extensive coverage of its rebirth tourism sector in Greece after the pandemic, noting that for the first time since 2019, when the country welcomed 33 million visitors – a record number – things are going so well.
The newspaper points out that the recovery sector, in a country that is heavily dependent on tourism, surprised even the most optimistic, recalling that the pandemic and its consequences had resulted in revenue falling from € 18.2 billion in 2019 to € 4 billion in 2020 and at 10 billion last year.
This year, however, despite the unexpected shadow of war after Russian invasion of Ukraine, the data show that the sector is recovering. For the first time since 2019, cruise ships are mooring again in Greek ports, proof, according to industry executives, that travelers want to leave the pandemic behind. Airline ticket bookings have also increased.
“The season started earlier than ever,” said Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias, noting that the first direct flight from the US, a key market for the Greek economy, took place on March 7th. “It is a vote of confidence for our country,” he added.
“All omens are positive,” Andreas Andreadis, executive of the successful Sani / Ikos luxury hotel group, told the Guardian. “For a few weeks after the start of the war in Ukraine, demand fell, but since the end of March it has risen and is now excellent,” he added. Tourists, he explained, are not interested in traveling to distant destinations, preferring to stay in Europe. “And the truth is that there are not many options when it comes to quality destinations,” he said.
The newspaper notes that the tourist season started earlier this year in Greece, with the aim of capitalizing on the country’s thirst for travel. He also recalled that last week it was announced that the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic will be lifted from May 1 and will be reviewed in September.
The decision to open the tourist season earlier seems to have paid off, writes the Guardian: the bookings were launched at Easter. Airlines are competing to secure more flights to Greece this summer while, as the Minister of Tourism said, 765 cruise ships want to catch in various ports and popular island destinations such as Mykonos, Kos and Corfu are already attracting large crowds.
“It is a fact that is found in all studies, that people do not just want to travel, they need to travel,” said Eugenios Vasilikos, vice president of the Panhellenic Hoteliers Federation. “Everything shows that it will be a very good year,” he added.
By 2023, another 5,000 hotel rooms will have been added to Athens compared to 2019, when the capital, once visited by tourists to head to the islands, managed to attract 5 million visitors. The investment frenzy, which is evident in the flourishing of the buildings that are changing the face of the center of Athens, is also indicative of the hopes that entrepreneurs place in the rebirth of the “heavy industry” of Greece.
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