Last-Minute Bookings to Make or Break 2016 Tourism for Greece

Tourist bookings to Greece are moving at a slower than ever pace, according to figures released by the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) this week which found that the number has dropped by 59,000 in the first six months of the year compared to the same period in 2015.

While incoming air traffic to Greece for the January-June period marked a 4.9 percent increase, up by 278,000 arrivals, inbound road traffic dropped by 7.4 percent at a loss of about 337,000 arrivals compared to the same period in 2015.

Topping the list of main destinations accessed via air thus far are Crete, up by 11.1 percent, the Ionian islands up by 9.7 percent and the Cyclades with a rise of 16 percent.

Athens recorded an increase of 4.2 percent in arrivals and Thessaloniki a 4 percent rise.

Meanwhile, islands primarily affected by the refugee influx have seen a major decline in the number of visitors: Kos recorded a drop of 17.9 percent, Samos by 39 percent and Lesvos by a massive 63.1 percent.

At the same time, road traffic from neighboring Bulgaria fell by 32 percent.

“The figures corroborate that the tourist season underway remains ‘fluid’ and  last minute,” SETE said in the accompanying statement, adding that this does not apply to all destinations in Greece, and underlining the significance of incentives instead of over-taxation for the further growth of the industry.