Athens Sees Rise in Jan-May Visitor Numbers

Visitor numbers were positive for Athens and Attica during the first five months of the year, the Athens – Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association said in an announcement on Thursday.

During the January-May 2015 period, the average hotel occupancy in Athens was up by 10 percent and the average room rate rose 5.3 percent.

However, the association made it clear that the 26 percent increase of arrivals recorded at Athens International Airport do not reflect the hotel occupancy of the Greek capital, since a significant percentage of those arrivals “escaped”, implying that the visitors stayed at illegal accommodation units in the city.

“Checks must be made to the thousands of accommodation units that operate illegally and that constantly absorb market share and demand, while boosting the existing gap in tax revenue and jobs”, the association underlined.

In regards to prices, the association said that hotels of the Greek capital have maintained a highly competitive pricing policy and thus play a highly catalytic role in the destination’s recovery.

According to the most recent “European Benchmarking” figures released by the association, Athens remains the cheapest capital city in Europe.