The financial loss for the hoteliers of Crete amounts to 800,000 euros.
With calmness and skepticism, the operators of Greek tourism face the next parts of the suspension of the operations of FTI, the third largest tour operator (Tour Operator) in Europe, a development which, initially, “numb” the domestic tourism scene.
The arrows of the present crisis may have directly hit a small but not negligible portion of hoteliers who cooperated with him, but in the long term there is concern about the new landscape that is taking shape for European Tour Operators, who supply Greece with foreign visitors.
70% of the FTI program concerned Crete
The region most exposed to the unfavorable development in FTI is Crete, with Emmanuel Tsakalaki, president of Rethymno hoteliers but also the president of the hoteliers’ association of Crete to emphasize to APE-MBE that 70% of the program of the specific tour operator concerned Crete. A 20% concerned Rhodes and a remaining 10% other regions of the country, he emphasized. In absolute numbers, the financial loss for Crete’s hoteliers amounts to 800,000 euros. At this point, it should be emphasized that the German tour operator has sent a letter to the hotels it cooperates with in our country, pointing out that any financial shock that may arise from the bankruptcy of FTI will be institutionally amortized through the German Travel Insurance Fund (DRFS).
Crete will lose at least 40,000 visitors to FTI this year
As far as visitor arrivals through FTI in Crete are concerned, this year they are estimated at 85,000 and of course it is up in the air. Of course, Mr. Tsakalakis estimates that 50% of the above visitors will eventually visit Crete, since already large travel organizers will carry out the above project that was canceled by FTI. What is certain, however, is that 40,000 visitors will be missing from the island this year, notes Mr. Tsakalakis and focuses on the new data resulting from the bankruptcy of FTI. Already the remaining 4 large Tour Operators in Europe have pressured the hoteliers of Crete for discounts on the packages of the existing bookings, which concerned FTI customers and their visit to the island.
The FTI cannon creates monopolistic situations
Going a step further, Mr. Tsakalakis focused on the monopoly situations that will be created by the withdrawal of a major player from the tourism scene, which, as he explains, do not favor competition. The result of this development, as Mr. Tsakalakis estimates, will be the pressure on hoteliers for lower prices in the offered packages. In his intervention in APE-MPE, Mr. Tsakalakis wonders how long the hotelier will pull the chestnuts out of the fire, recalling that the wounds from the bankruptcy of Mouzenidis and Thomas Cook are still open from the past.
His statement is on the same wavelength president of XEE Alexandros Vassilikos which notes that the treatment of such problems cannot always be left solely to the philanthropy of the hotelier, who also suffers the financial loss. A European legislative umbrella must be created immediately, which will allow member states to intervene to protect the rights of consumer-visitors, as well as hoteliers. Now, for this particular case, we are in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and the government, exploring how the financial losses for our member hoteliers can be mitigated, he said.
Source: Skai
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