Rhodes’ August Tourism Rise Paves Way for September

The Dodecanese island of Rhodes is expecting tourism to pick up pace this month on the back of airport data revealing a 5.4 percent rise in incoming traffic for August compared to the same month last year.

South Aegean Prefect George Hadjimarkos. Photo: GTP

South Aegean Prefect George Hadjimarkos expressed his optimism that September will also see a soaring number of tourists, citing the introduction of extra flights to the island.

“The signs for September are positive. Judging by the requests for additional flights to Rhodes, we expect increased traffic this month,” he said.

Mr Hadjimarkos went on to add that the forecasts for October are also encouraging despite an expected drop in revenues due to the increase in VAT and other tax measures.

August rise

Incoming traffic to Rhodes marked a 5.4 percent rise in August according to Civil Aviation Authority figures released this week, mainly through charter flights, with 422,973 foreign travelers against 420,151 in August last year.

Rhodes International Airport – Diagoras/ Photo © Piotrus – Wikimedia Commons

Domestic tourism, meanwhile, through Rhodes’ Diagoras Airport grew by 7.02 percent to 50,936 compared to 47,595 in August 2015, with total traffic for the month coming to 6,779 flights against 6,770 last year.

Holidaymakers from Britain took the lead in August at 78,187, followed by Germans at 62,300, Italians at 43.248 and Russians at 31,905.

Meanwhile, the number of visitors from Norway dropped by 22.22 percent, from Belgium by 12.87 percent, from Austria by 9.46 percent and from neighboring Turkey by a massive 66.07 percent.