Covid-19 Impact on tourism economy Gloomy Outlook Ahead for Greek Hoteliers by GTP editing team 25 August 2020 written by GTP editing team 25 August 2020 1 comment Share 0FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail 10 Setting priorities and implementing immediate relief measures for tourism enterprises hit by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic are crucial if Greece wants to be ready for 2021. “The year is over, we are now fighting for 2021,” said Hellenic Federation of Hoteliers (POX) President Grigoris Tasios who echoed Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) President Yiannis Retsos’ concerns. Tasios said he expects the sector will need four years to cover lost ground, with most professionals struggling to survive in 2021, he said. Representing Greek hoteliers, Tasios forecast 15 billion euros in losses compared to 18 billion euros in revenue recorded last year, which he said cannot possibly be recovered in the next two years. “Average six-month occupancy in the whole country did not exceed 35 percent with half of the hotels closed, while last winter, the average six-month occupancy level ranged between 50 and 60 percent in total,” he said, adding that hoteliers cannot expect income this coming winter. Backing SETE’s call for extra support, Tasios too said it was vital that flexibility for payments and contributions as well as employee support measures are crucial to the survival of the sector’s professionals. POX President Grigoris Tasios. According to Tasios, who also heads the Halkidiki Hotel Association, of the 540 hotels in the region, 380 opened and he expects half of those to close by September 10. Tasios went on to add that the announcement of tighter measures at a number of Greek destinations lead to confusion and cancelations. “The tighter restrictions imposed in some areas caused confusion with regard to the existence of a lockdown and this led to new cancelations… the season ended disreputably for some destinations,” said Tasios. He added that misleading media reports regarding quarantine measures in Greece and abroad as well as a climate of fear had impacted travel. Concluding, Tasios said it was vital to ensure “better communication management” of measures in the future. Join the 15,000+ travel executives who read our newsletter Follow GTP Headlines on Google News to keep up to date with all the latest on tourism and travel in Greece. Share 0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail GTP editing team This is the team byline for GTP. The copyrights for these articles are owned by GTP. They may not be redistributed without the permission of the owner. previous post Greek Gov’t Mulls Tax Relief for Covid-hit Businesses next post SETE: Greece’s Tourism Sector Needs Support into 2021 You may also like Greece’s Hotel Market Sees Major Investments Over Four Months 5 February 2025 Greek Tourism Ministry Monitors Santorini Situation as Seismic Activity Continues 5 February 2025 Global Air Passenger Demand Reaches Record High in 2024, IATA Reports 5 February 2025 Greek PM Reassures Public About Santorini’s Ongoing Seismic Activity 5 February 2025 Milos: Ministry Suspends 5-star Hotel Construction Near Sarakiniko Beach 5 February 2025 ELIME and HELMEPA Join Forces for Safer, More Sustainable Greek Ports 5 February 2025 1 comment Ying-Sing Ho 26 August 2020 - 11:35 Greece wants foreign visitors, but is it willing to compel it’s airlines to refund passengers for cancelled flights as required by EU passenger rights laws? How are we expected to return when hotels and airlines are not willing to make refunds because of travel restrictions? Reply Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ
