Industry Reports & Trends

Tourism arrivals are down 10 percent so far this year, while hotel room prices are also down by 10 percent, President of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels Yiorgos Tsakiris said last month in response to a report published by the New York Times newspaper on Greek tourism trends.

The “You in Greece” online campaign is the new tool to promote tourism in Greece and aims to show that, besides sea and sun, Greece is also a country of experiences and diversity, Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos told journalists at a press conference last month.

Despite difficulties the air transport industry is facing due to the crisis, Athens International Airport (AIA) Eleftherios Venizelos last month reported improved passenger traffic and air flight figures.

From 15 April until 21 April a total of 1,177 flights to and from Greek airports were canceled due to the volcanic ash cloud from Ireland, according to Civil Aviation Authority data.

Athens hotel revenue decreased by seven percent during the first quarter of 2010 with the average revenue per available room shaped at 49.46 euros, according to official statistics of the Athens-Attica Hoteliers Association in regards to hotel occupancy for the first quarter of the year.

Tourist arrivals have dropped 10 percent throughout Greece, President of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels Yiorgos Tsakiris said at a press conference in mid-May while presenting data gathered from the country’s hotelier associations.

The total outcome in regards to hotel bookings during this year’s Easter holiday did not satisfy Greek hoteliers but hasty conclusions should not be made in regards to the season’s final result, President of the Hellenic Federation of Hoteliers Andreas Andreadis advised last month.

German bookings to Greece are in a standstill, tourism professionals in Germany told the foreign press last month.

Each country’s views on the crisis in Greece directly affects the tourist flow to the country, according to recent figures of research company GfK’s Tourism Panel.

Greek hotels produced a two percent increase in the average price per room in 2009, according to the Hotel Price Index (HPI) survey released recently by U.K. website Hotels.com.