Hoteliers Say Thessaloniki Needs Comprehensive Tourism Strategy  

Hoteliers of Thessaloniki and regional officials at the New Year’s pita cutting ceremony of the city’s hotels association. Photo source: Thessaloniki Hotels Association

Thessaloniki needs a carefully designed tourism strategy that will set clear goals and address recurrent problems, said the president of the Thessaloniki Hotels Association (THA) Andreas Mandrinos during the New Year’s pita cutting ceremony this week.

Thessaloniki Hotels Association President Andreas Mandrinos
Photo source: Thessaloniki Hotels Association.

Mandrinos said Thessaloniki managed in 2023 to perform well, which he said would be the case in 2024 also. He went on to underline however that in order to address issues hindering the tourism development of the city, a comprehensive tourism strategy must be drawn up and implemented.

Issues that require immediate attention include cleanliness, noise pollution, lack of parking spaces and city supervision by the police to ensure safety of residents and visitors. Once these issues are addressed, said Mandrinos, promotional actions will be targeted to specific international markets in order to stimulate demand which in turn will prompt airlines to create routes to and from the city.

Additionally, new ways to tap into road tourism, a key tourist segment for Thessaloniki, must be examined in order to increase tourist spend. In this direction, Mandrinos said efforts would continue and that policymakers and stakeholders would be held accountable if development works fail to proceed.

Thessaloniki Mayor Stelios Aggeloudis (center) with Thessaloniki Hotels Association President Andreas Mandrinos (right) and Holiday Inn Thessaloniki Presient and Managing Director Aristotelis Thomopoulos. Photo source: Thessaloniki Hotels Association

Addressing the event, Thessaloniki’s new mayor, Stelios Aggeloudis announced the creation of a municipal tourism committee, which will design the northern port city’s tourism identity. Aggeloudis admitted that there were many problems and that many things had to change.