Covid-19 Impact on tourism economy

Visitors from Germany, the UK, France, Poland and Italy made up the bulk of incoming travelers in the 2020 summer season.

The Greek economy is expected to shrink by 9.5 percent in 2020 due to the Covid-19 shock, which has interrupted the country’s economic recovery, the IMF said.

Substantially hit by the Covid-19 impact on air travel, international passenger traffic at Athens Airport in September was down by 72.3% compared to the same month last year.

KLM has submitted a restructuring plan to The Netherlands Ministry of Finance in order to obtain a government loan and guarantees to the value of 3.4 billion euros.

Small tourism accommodations in Greece are expected to have access to EU funds in the first quarter of 2021, according to the hospitality body SETKE.

Tourism-related revenues are expected to reach 20% of last year’s earnings by the end of 2020, according to Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis.

Hellenic Chamber of Hotels President Alexandros Vassilikos sees a tough winter ahead for hotels in Greece due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The EBRD estimates that Greece’s GDP will shrink by 9.5 percent in 2020 and record a 4 percent recovery in 2021.

Greece’s MICE industry has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and sector professionals are predicting a severe drop in arrivals and revenues for 2020.

The UNWTO presented data on the impact of Covid-19 on travel and tourism, during a webinar held in cooperation with the Thessaloniki Tourism Organization.

The South Aegean Region won over Greece’s highest spending travelers in 2019 marking a 12.7% increase against the previous year, says INSETE.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says it now expects full-year 2020 air traffic to be down 66% compared to 2019, due to the impact of Covid-19.

Covid-19 has cost Thessaloniki hotels more than 1.05 million overnight stays in the first eight months of 2020, a decline of nearly 80%.

Impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the slowdown in global travel, Greek carrier AEGEAN recorded a 64% drop in turnover in the first half of 2020.

Greece’s economic activity in July-August recorded an upturn with a positive impact of tourism, according to the country’s national bank.

In an attempt to win back reluctant travelers due to Covid-19, Europe’s airline companies are bringing down their rates for September through to December.

Europe’s Transport and Tourism Committee is calling for immediate action to save the tourism sector and some 22 million jobs that are at risk due to Covid-19.

Greece’s travel receipts from abroad are expected to reach only €3 billion in 2020 due to the impact of Covid-19, according to SETE President Yiannis Retsos.

Greece’s accommodation and food services activities in July suffered the biggest blow to turnover, down by 71.4% as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The lingering uncertainty which has resulted from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has forced CEOs in Greece and abroad to redefine future priorities, a KPMG study reveals.