After a long pause due to a pandemic, the resumption of carnival events and customs seems more dynamic than ever, with people thirsting for escapes to either closer or more distant destinations and hotels being sold out. The truth is that after the holidays, the three days of Clean Monday was what everyone was waiting for to get back to work and especially in certain destinations, it was impossible to find a room for a long time.

In Naoussa, in fact, which is known for its carnivals and the “Jenissaries and Boules” custom, the mayor Nikolas Karanikolas granted the auxiliary area of ​​the stadium for people to come with caravans and motorhomes, since there was no room anywhere in the wider area. as he mentions, after a request he received from the Motorists’ Association of Greece.

With Patras holding the scepter as the queen of the carnival, the accommodations were full from the beginning of November, while they gradually filled up in the wider area as well. “As far as mountainous destinations are concerned, we have very high occupancy rates in Kalavryta, mountainous Corinthia and mountainous Arcadia, but they are also equally high in the cities of the Peloponnese, such as e.g. Kalamata”, notes the president of the Peloponnese Tourist Organization and the president of the Arcadia Hoteliers Union Konstantinos Marinakos. However, a constant “headache”, as he emphasizes, remains the high energy cost for hotels and although the three days of Clean Monday give a breather, it is not enough, as the next corresponding breather is expected on March 25th.

Since the beginning of the month, all the destinations that have events for Halloween are sold out, with traffic then being transferred regionally, as the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Hoteliers, Grigoris Tasios, points out while speaking to the Athenian and Macedonian News Agency. “It is clearly an economic stimulus “injection” for the hotels of the mountains and the provincial towns, after the difficult years that preceded it. But, after the three days in question and until March 25, occupancy does not exceed 50%”, he notes.

The popular Xanthi Carnival attracts people from both Greece and neighboring countries, with accommodation in the town and the wider area being full. We remind you that according to the president of the Hoteliers’ Union of Xanthi Yiannis Ieropoulos, this year the largest turnout of all time is expected and in numbers this is estimated to exceed 100,000 people for the day of the parade which takes place on Sunday.

In Kozani the Fanoi, in Kastoria the… tsipouro

In addition to Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Western Macedonia is also very dynamically moving in fullness with the Carnival and the customs of Kozani, such as the Fanoi, returning with their “fanatic” audience. Thus, in the city of Kozani as well as in the surrounding areas, the accommodations are full, as reported by the president of the Union of Hoteliers of Western Macedonia, Iordanis Michaelidis. And although in Kastoria the corresponding events, known as Ragoutsaria, take place after the New Year and not now, the organization of a celebration-competition for the best tsipouro (being organized for the 5th year) has attracted a lot of people, with the result that there are also full quite high.

Occupancies are also very high in Central Macedonia, according to the Deputy Regional Governor for Tourism, Alexandros Thanos, and as he explains that it is an extremely good three-day period for all professionals related to tourism and favors all areas with an emphasis on those that have events, such as Naoussa, Sochos, etc., but also Thessaloniki, which always remains a very attractive city break destination.

“Jamales” and 100% occupancy in Epirus

The “Tzamales” custom in Ioannina, which has its roots in the Turkish occupation, is being revived again after three years. The cultural associations light 67 bonfires in the city and the carnival goers go from fire to fire, in a climate of joy and euphoria. The same climate prevails for hoteliers since occupancy in the city reaches 100%, as the president of the Hoteliers’ Union of the prefecture of Ioannina, Stathis Sioutis, emphasizes. However, Metsovo is also fully booked and the ski center located in Anilio contributes to this, while occupancies exceeding 90% are also noted in Tzoumerka, Konitsa and Zagorochoria, according to Mr. Sioutis.

“Epirus has a very strong tourist product that combines mountain and sea and is expected to take off in the coming years”, notes the president of the Ioannina Prefecture Hotel Association. “Egnatia and the Ionian Sea helped a lot in this direction, as did the airport which is connected to even more destinations (Tel Aviv, Scandinavia, Heraklion) while this year an increase in cruises is also expected”, Mr. Sioutis points out.

A thousand additional beds were “recruited” in Rethymno

There is also an influx of people at the well-known Carnival of Rethymno, where the city’s hotels are 100% full and in the surrounding area occupancy exceeds 90%. As explained by Manolis Tsakalakis, president of the Hoteliers’ Association of Rethymnon, after the approximately 2,000 beds in the city were filled, due to the demand, two more large hotels were opened to serve the people. In total, that is, 3,000 hotel beds are available in Rethymno for the three days of Halloween. And he notes: “The traffic will definitely be at the levels of 2019 and we expect more than 15,000 carnival-goers but also a lot of people from Attica and other parts of Greece, Cyprus, abroad and other areas of Crete.”