The treasurer expressed the hope that 2025 will be as good for tourism as 2024 and leave the same dynamic, positive “imprint” on the city’s hotels Association of Hoteliers of Thessaloniki, Theodoros Mousiadis, speaking on “The Agency, 104.9 FM”. According to him, the traffic in the last and festive month of the year was increased compared to the corresponding period of 2023.

“2024 ended in the best possible way, our city really filled up over the festive period. We await the official figures for the city’s hotels, however, I estimate that traffic was 10 to 15% better compared to last December and domestic tourism helped a lot. The hotels were filled with Greeks”, emphasized Mr. Mousiadis, who is also the representative of the Hotel Chamber for the 3-star hotels of Macedonia-Thrace-Thassos. “My estimate is that in December 60% were Greeks. We have all nationalities and many Balkans, yet domestic tourism has dominated. Cypriots also showed a great preference for Thessaloniki this festive period”, he noted.

“We had customers who told us ‘we came for the metro'”

This year, Thessaloniki became an attractive destination for another reason: for its metro. To its impressive decoration, large market, interesting events and culinary identity was added the metro, which attracted visitors from the cities of Northern Greece. “True, the metro helped too, there were a lot of people from nearby towns who came to see the metro too. “Someone may not understand this, but we had customers who told us ‘we came for the subway,'” said Mr. Musiadis.

With a lot of people and the three days of Epiphany

Time has changed but the festivities are not over even the three days of Epiphany, as the treasurer of the Thessaloniki Hotel Association pointed out, is moving at the same dynamic levels. “These three days work a lot, like New Year’s and Christmas, Thessaloniki is very crowded, the hotels are full”, emphasized Mr. Musiadis.

The mountainous Halkidiki also has high occupancy rates

High occupancy rates were also recorded in the accommodation facilities of mountainous Halkidiki. “Areas of the mountainous massif of Halkidiki had high occupancy rates for a full ten days, despite the fact that there are few beds, about 300 in total,” as he told APE-MPE president of the Halkidiki Hotel Association, Grigoris Tassios. Accommodations in “Taxiarchi, Arnaia, Vrastana and Polygyro were crowded this year at Christmas and New Year”, emphasized Mr. Tasios and added that although with lower occupancy levels, the three-day Epiphany also moves satisfactorily.