Thessaloniki Sees Upward Trend In Foreign Overnights

Thessaloniki recorded 31.09 percent more foreign overnights at its hotels during the first nine months of 2011 when compared to the corresponding period in 2010, while overnights by Greeks fell by 5.5 percent, according to recent figures released by the Thessaloniki Hotels Association.

Overnights of foreigners in Thessaloniki have now risen to 41.76 percent against the percentage of Greeks that fell to 58.24 percent. For some 35 years Greeks maintained the majority of overnights at hotels in Thessaloniki (75 percent).

During the January-September 2011 period, Thessaloniki saw an impressive increase in overnights by tourists from Israel (331.67 percent), Egypt (283.01 percent), Norway (166.98 percent), Ukraine (122.22 percent), Russia (96.41 percent), FYROM (72, 04 percent), Denmark (64.24 percent), Turkey (63.57 percent), Albania (62.80 percent) and Sweden (59.34 percent).

The association said this shift had to do with an entry of tourists from new markets such as Israel, Russia, Turkey and Albania and an increase of tourists from traditional Balkan markets such as Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria.