Flood-hit Tourism Enterprises in Thessaly Expect Slow Recovery

Flooded areas in Thessaly. Photo source: Wikipedia

Tourism enterprises in Thessaly, hit by Storm Daniel, will need more than a year to recover losses and restore damage, said the Federation of Hellenic Associations of Tourist & Travel Agencies (FedHATTA), calling on the government to take immediate measures.

In a letter to relevant ministries, FedHATTA is urging the government to support affected tourism businesses, which will be missing out on tourism this fall, a peak season for the region, and may face a severe risk of ruin.

“Restoring the damages – to whatever extent this is possible – will be a particularly difficult and time-consuming task,” said FedHATTA, adding that tourism activity in the region has been “completely destroyed and is not possible to begin to recover before next year, at best”.

Damages listed include destroyed trails and no access to several popular destinations on Mt Pelion, including those on cruise ship itineraries.

According to FedHATTA, all tourist activity to the Pelion area and Thessaly has been cancelled.

Cycling at Pelion (archive photo). Photo source: My Thessaly.

Among others, FedHATTA is calling for provisions that will allow the suspension of employment contracts of affected enterprises in order to preserve jobs; inclusion or extension of unemployment benefits for seasonal staff employed by businesses during the summer season; suspending rent, tax and loan payments to December 31, 2024; exempting  affected businesses of tax liability in 2023; releasing non-refundable aid and low-interest state loans; and the development of a promotional campaign aimed at restoring the region’s image abroad.

“The businesses of Thessaly are in an extremely unfavorable situation as the disasters caused by the bad weather have resulted in zero tourism. The viability of local businesses is particularly serious and urgent,” said  FedHATTA President Lysandros Tsilidis.