Industry Reports & Trends

Targeting markets in the Balkans, Middle East and Turkey and attracting international hotel brands will help place the northern port city of Thessaloniki among the top tourist destinations, tourism consultants HVS said in a recent report.

In efforts to explore the sharing economy and its effects on Greek tourism as well as identify possible solutions to lost revenue resulting from illegal leasing practices, the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels organized a forum on Tuesday to present a report on the phenomenon.

Athens, Greece, was the only city that reported double-digit hotel occupancy increase on a European level, according to data released recently by STR Global on the European hotel industry for October 2014.

In September, tourism revenue in Greece rose by 10.9 percent (225 million euros) to 2.28 billion euros from 2.06 billion compared to the same month in 2013.

Τhe important role aviation plays in the Greek tourism chain was discussed during a recent conference held by the Hellenic Association of Airline Representatives (SAAE) and attended by representatives of the airline industry, associations and Athens International Airport (AIA).

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently announced global passenger traffic results for September showing demand growth of 5.3 percent (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) over September 2013.

Russian trips abroad will increase next year by some four percent, according to the annual ITB World Travel Trends Report, conducted by IPK International and commissioned by travel trade show ITB Berlin.

Athens is geared up for two years of high growth as it presents a great opportunity for investment in nearly every hotel category, according to HVS, a leading consulting and services organization focused on the hotel industry.

The European Travel Commission (ETC) has included Greece among Europe’s top 10 destinations by international tourist arrivals for the first three quarters of 2014.

The Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) has updated its 2014 international arrival forecast after processing new data for the month of October. The new forecast of total visitor arrivals by all means of transport is shifting to the level of 23 million.