Road tourism in our country may be increasing more and more, however, as can be seen from the data, not all areas are favored in the same way this year. Those who have every reason to smile are the professionals of Evros, because the arrival of mainly Turks has significantly increased the tourist traffic, while Pieria and Thessaloniki are feeling the decline that comes mainly from the Romanian market.

According to his recent data Institute of the Association of Greek Tourist Companies (INSETE) in the first half of 2024, road tourism increased by 13.7%, with international arrivals reaching 4 million, compared to 3.5 million in the corresponding period last year.

However, in Pieria the drop in tourist traffic, which depends approximately 75% on road tourism, reached 25% in July compared to last year, as the president of Pieria said speaking to APE-MPE Union of Hoteliers of Pieria and vice president of POX, Iraklis Tsitlakidis.

“There is a noticeable decline from the Romanian market and I believe the reasons are multifactorial. For us it is an important market and the first nationality in inbound tourism as it is in first place followed by Bulgarians, Serbians and Germans. August is going well so far, but that’s not enough. I believe that there must be serious improvements in the infrastructure of the border stations in order to strengthen road tourism”, noted Mr. Tsitlakidis.

As far as road tourism is concerned, traffic is particularly reduced in Thessaloniki, according to Andreas Mandrino, president of the Thessaloniki Hotel Association.

“August is very bad in terms of road tourism and in general tourist traffic in Thessaloniki is reduced. From July to August the decline is expected to reach double digits and this is due to many factors. The war in the Middle East has also affected us, as we lost the Israeli market, but especially from road tourism we also lost a large part of the Romanian market. On the one hand, because since April, Romanians can travel anywhere in Europe by air freely and on the other hand, because we had long periods of prolonged heatwaves that acted as a deterrent for anyone who wanted to come with their car to Greece, especially with the current state of the land borders”. points out Mr. Mandrinos.

The Romanians for Thessaloniki are in the first 5 nationalities, as is Israel, and while there was an increase from Turks, it was not enough to cover the decrease from the two aforementioned nationalities, according to the president of EXTH.

“Thessaloniki is currently not at a good level. Just consider that the average five-star price is estimated to be 250% lower than in Athens due to supply and demand.

The issue touches the economic course of the city will touch the winter and focus on other industries. The positive thing is that we are expecting a good September because of the International Exhibition”, adds Mr. Mandrinos.

Thrace and Halkidiki the winners of road tourism

From the beginning of the year until today, the tourist movement in Thrace shows an upward trend compared to last year, with the Turks as the protagonists. “The Turks have raised the bar a lot, especially in the city break. Until the end of September we have very good occupancy not only in Alexandroupolis but also in Komotini and Xanthi, from Bulgarians and Romanians. Now people have been channeled to these areas as well, as the occupancy rates in Alexandroupoli are high”, points out the Apostolos Palakidis, president of Thrace Hotels. For the region, road tourism is the main source of income at a rate that exceeds 70%. Mr. Palakidis, however, underlines that the issue of upgrading the infrastructure at the land borders of the Gardens as well as at the northern entrance gates is an issue that must be resolved soon. As far as Alexandroupoli is concerned, however, in August occupancy rates of around 95% are recorded.

Although the season is reduced by 20 days in Halkidiki this year, it is expected to close at the same levels as last year for the hotels. “We had a strong five-day period in May due to Easter but the mass arrivals started on June 20. Last year we had a season of 100 days mainly with Balkan road tourists and this year 80″, says Grigoris Tasios, president of the Halkidiki Hotel Association. “Of course, new nationalities were added such as tourists from Kosovo because there is no visa and Bosnians, while the Turks also increased quite a bit, most of them on the first leg. Of the total incoming tourists, about 50% come by road. In other words, we have about one million total visitors and half of them travel by road. There are many people who choose hotels, but also many go to rentals and short-term leases, and especially this year there are phenomena of unfair competition”, adds Mr. Tassios.

One of the main issues raised by the president of EXX is the need to upgrade the infrastructure at the land borders and the creation of a Tourism Observatory in order to correctly measure arrivals from the land borders, since as he emphasizes there is no numbering by nationality.

It should be noted that in Halkidiki road tourism tourists come mainly from Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia.

“Altogether, Halkidiki in hotels will have the numbers of 2023 and the season is expected to close in mid-October, with the western market taking the lead in mid-September,” adds Mr. Tassios.

Romanians, Serbs and Bulgarians are the protagonists of road tourism

The most sought-after destinations for Romanians in terms of road tourism are Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. Although road tourism showed an upward trend compared to last year, due to the repair work of the Friendship Bridge connecting Romania with Bulgaria and due to the long waiting hours, it is estimated that the flow of tourists who chose Bulgaria, Greece and Bulgaria will be negatively affected. Turkey as a holiday destination, according to Giorgos Kakutis, Head of Foreign Service of E.O.T of Serbiawith parallel duties in the Foreign Service of the E.O.T. Romania.

The main destinations of Romanians visiting Greece by road are Thassos, Halkidiki, Pieria, Kavala, Lefkada, Samothraki and Evia. In recent years, Lefkada has shown a strong dynamic due to the ease of access by road (but there are also direct flights to Aktion).

As far as Bulgaria is concerned, according to Mr. Kakutis, the main tourist stream (road tourism) from Bulgaria maintains an increasing trend, with dominant destinations being Halkidiki and the coastal front in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (Kavala-Nea Peramos , Ofrynio, Keramoti, etc). The large number of independent tourists (Individuals) in a percentage of over 96% are road tourists, due to the ease of access to our country.

At the same time, as Mr. Kakutis points out, the easy road access from Serbia to Greece is a key determining factor in the development of road tourism from Serbia. The passage of Serbian visitors through the entry gates to Greece is particularly high. According to the Association of Tourist Agents of Serbia (YUTA), the summer season is going quite well, without any major problems. Greece is the most sought after and one of the first destinations for Serbian tourists this year as well. According to the estimates of the same authority, slightly more than one million Serbian visitors are expected in Greece. The main destinations chosen by Serbs for years are Halkidiki, Pieria, the Ionian Islands, Thassos, Skiathos, Corfu, Evia, etc.