Industry Reports & Trends

“It is unrealistic to expect an increase in arrivals to Greece this year,” Taleb Rifai, the secretary general of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said last month during a joint press conference in Athens with Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Yeroulanos.

The effects of Greece’s economic crisis (pay cuts, job and pension cuts, tax hikes) coupled with increased ferry ticket prices and a 48-hour strike of seamen, was enough for many Greeks to either change their holiday plans or just stay home last month during the Easter holiday.

The Laboratory of Research and Tourism Satellite Account of Patras University will carry out a research study for the Municipality of Hersonissos, Crete, on the role of tourism in the production structure and economy of the municipality based on regional tourism satellite accounts.

“Greece does not have tourism… It is very expensive… Greece gains nothing from staying in the Euro,” were just some of the comments made by leading economist and president of the Ifo Institute in Munich, Dr. Hans-Werner Sinn, during his presentation on global economic developments on the first day of the ITB Berlin Convention last month. The presentation was attended by a massive audience of tourism professionals.

The oversupply of capacity, the large number of ships under construction, the decline in traffic
and the significant decrease of banks funding shipping activities will be just some of the drawbacks shipping companies will face this year, according to the World Shipping Congress held in late February at the Divani Apollon Palace in Kavouri.

The Greek tourism leadership was up against a complex task at the 46th ITB Berlin travel trade show last month while restoring Greece’s reputation as a top and safe destination. Tourism officials were obliged to make a great effort to reverse the negative climate that currently stands in the German market and promote Greece as a destination that is friendly to Germans.

Greece ranked fourth as a preferred EU holiday destination for 2012 following Spain, Italy and France, according to the Eurobarometer survey on the attitudes of Europeans towards tourism announced last month.

Greek tourism should not diverge from its target of keeping this year’s international arrivals above 16 million and revenue higher than 10 billion euros, the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) said last month during a press conference to the foreign media.

Consumers in the UK are choosing alternative destinations for holiday this year as a result of the constant negative publicity focused on Greece (which consumers see as not just Athens but the islands too), according to an open letter sent to Greek officials last month by three UK travel industry federations.

“There are many Germans who are afraid to come to Greece,” Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Yeroulanos informed Greece’s head of state President Carolos Papoulias last month after his visit to the 46th ITB Berlin travel trade show in Germany.