Study: Number, Size of Greek Hotels on the Rise

Photo credit: Alta Vista – Aqua Vista Hotels

Hotels are popping up in Greece with their dynamic marking a 52 percent increase between 1990 and 2015, according to research results announced by the Institute for Tourism Research and Forecasts (ITEP) in Athens, on Wednesday.

Titled “Developments in Global and Greek Tourism”, the study focused in large part on the hospitality sector, revealing a 19 percent rise in the average number of rooms, while the number of five-star units increased by 486 percent with the capacity of four- and five-star hotels coming to 41 percent of the total hotel capacity, expected to reach 48-50 percent by 2020.

Greek hotels on average have 42 rooms, with 80 percent having fewer than 50 rooms. The study findings further reveal that 36.5 percent of Greece’s hotels charge less that 40 euros per stay in May 2015, with the rate dropping to 14.5 percent in August 2015, during peak season.

Only 5 percent of the total number of hotels charge more than 100 euros last May, dropping to 14 percent in August.

Women, meanwhile, make up the largest part of the work force at 57-58 percent of the total, with the figure reaching 90 percent in lower category hotels.

With regard to Greek vacationers, Bank of Greece research reveals a 2 percent drop in 2015 average spending per trip.

Seasonality remains a major problem for the sector.