Great and growing demand for cruises as well – Greece ranks first among luxury vacationers
“Greece is also this summer one of the most popular holiday destinations. We expect the highest level of demand ever. Crete in particular is heading for an unprecedented record. There is no tourist area or destination to it Hellas which is not in demand at the moment,” says o Aage Dinhaupt, its Communications Director TUI in his interview with the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency.
He points out that TUI’s decision to postpone the start of the tourist season for Greece earlier this year “proved to be right” and adds that “bookings for the months of September and October have also been increasing significantly for several weeks. We expect a very strong autumn this year as well.”
He also notes that in the cruise sector the demand for Greece continues to grow, “the Greek islands are particularly popular with our customers who are interested in cruises”.
Finally, it states that Greece ranks first in preferences among luxury vacationers. “Luxury travel in the summer season is almost completely sold out. In recent years, Greek hoteliers have invested in their facilities and many beautiful resorts have been created, even completely new ones have been created. These investments are now paying off,” he concludes.
The following is the interview of Aage Dinhaupt with the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency and with Antonis Polychronakis.
Mr. Dinhaupt, are TUI’s optimistic forecasts for Greece confirmed so far, does the positive trend continue? Do you expect to bring more tourists from Germany to Greece than in 2019, i.e. surpass the pre-pandemic level?
Greece is also this summer one of the most popular holiday destinations and the demand is still very high. We expect the highest level of demand ever in the summer. Crete in particular is heading for an unprecedented record. There is no tourism sector or destination to Greece that is not currently in demand. Accordingly, TUI continues to hold its leading position in the Greek market and overall the group is expected to bring around 3 million holidaymakers to Greece, i.e. a higher number of visitors than before the pandemic (when it was 2.8 million).
Will you be able to meet the demand?
In total, TUI includes in its program 24 Greek destinations on the mainland and the islands with over 4,500 hotels. Particularly popular with our customers are the approximately 40 hotels and clubs of the TUI brand, such as Robinson club, TUI Magic Life, TUI Blue, TUI Suneo and TUI Kids Club, which are characterized by a particularly high level of guest satisfaction. TUI has once again added beds for Greece and ensured sufficient capacities in the popular holiday destinations. When things get tight in individual areas, TUI works hard to secure extra beds. Especially in many Greek islands, successful renegotiations with hotels are underway. Only in the Greek islands of Kos and Rhodes will there be narrow beds at the end of July and beginning of August. Our buyers are currently scrambling to secure every bed to enable our customers to be able to holiday there.
Last year, Greece opened to tourists in mid-May. This year, TUI moved earlier the start of the tourist season for Greece. Did this decision prove correct in practice?
Due to high demand, TUI moved the start of the tourist season for the Greek islands four weeks earlier this year and scheduled over 60 additional flights. This decision turned out to be the right one, because vacationers remain loyal to Greece this year as well.
How does the demand for the end of summer and autumn for Greece forecast?
And bookings for the months of September and October have also been increasing significantly for several weeks. Many families are currently securing the best deals for fall vacation. October was already one of the most booked holiday months in Greece since last year. The lovely but not so warm weather and warm sea temperatures attracted many holidaymakers and our offers were de facto completely sold out. We are expecting a very strong autumn this year as well.
Which Greek travel destinations were particularly popular, what are your customers’ top top picks?
The top 10 destinations for TUI customers are: 1. Crete 2. Rhodes 3. Kos 4. Corfu 5. Peloponnese 6. Macedonia 7. Santorini 8. Zakynthos 9. Karpathos 10. Mykonos.
Many European airports are facing problems this year. Have TUI-fly flights to Greece been canceled or is your flight schedule running smoothly?
Our own airline TUI fly is doing well and we have started the summer season well prepared. Our flight schedule with many direct flights from Dusseldorf, Hannover, Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart remains in place, as do our plans for additional spare aircraft during peak periods. Despite the challenges posed by the lack of staff in the industry, holidays will run smoothly for the vast majority of tourists. Millions of people will once again spend wonderful holidays and relax with TUI this summer. Of course, Greek airports also face major challenges, but this was also the case before the coronavirus, when several hundred planes landed on the islands every week. Therefore, we would welcome further infrastructure expansion.
Will there be additional flights from Germany to Greece to meet a possible higher demand?
As I said, we have secured more bed capacity in the market in order to be prepared for the start of the holiday season in the various federal states where the volume of travelers is particularly high. Among others, there are also Greek airlines that operate flights to and from Germany for TUI customers. Additional flights will be available on a case-by-case basis for our companies and the cruise because demand has soared for them as well.
What is the situation with cruises specifically to Greek destinations and how popular are they currently with your customers?
Demand for cruises to Greece also continues to grow. Already in April we were on board with the entire fleet of TUI Cruises. The Greek islands are particularly popular with our clients interested in cruises.
There is also demand for trips to Greek cities, e.g. for Athens or Thessaloniki?
City tourism is experiencing a renaissance this summer, this also applies to Athens and Thessaloniki. But to be honest, most of our customers are attracted to the beaches of the islands and the beautiful tavernas of the smaller settlements.
Where are we with luxury tourism in Greece, is there interest and if so which are the most popular destinations?
Greece ranks first in the preferences of luxury vacationers of our company airtours. The luxury trips of the summer season are almost completely sold out, but there are still isolated possibilities in Kos, Corfu and Crete. From the second week of September, the selection is again clearly larger. In recent years, Greek hoteliers have invested in their facilities and many beautiful resorts have been created, even completely new ones have been created. These investments are now paying off, because the trend in holidaymakers’ preferences is clearly towards high quality hotels, i.e. 4-5 star hotels. Last year’s highlight was a combined trip on Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ MS Europa 2 (one of the best and most beautiful in the world) plus a stay at a local 5-star hotel near Agios Nikolaos, Crete.
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