Industry Reports & Trends

The recent visit of Edward Ross, director of corporate and marketing communication of Amadeus, to Athens provided some valuable insight in to the prospects and ambitions of the global central reservations system in 2007.

Official data from local and international tourism organizations shows that Greece is not a low-cost tourism destination despite an overall opinion that Greece does not attract high-income tourists.

The general secretary of the National Statistics Service of Greece recently announced a decrease in port traffic for the third quarter of 2006 in comparison with the same period in 2005. These results refer to the movement of passengers, commerce and mobile units in Greek ports serviced by domestic and international ships during this period.

More than two-thirds (67%) of North Americans place importance on the eco-friendliness of a destination, according to a recent survey, and this market segment has a growing future ahead of it.

Greece lags behind most of its regional competitors in tourism competitiveness. It lies 24th among 124 countries, according to the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index presented recently by the World Economic Forum.

Americans bombard their travel agents for prices on cruises in Europe, including the Greek Islands. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) says that Europe will be on the cruise map this year.

According to local press reports, foreign investors and large foreign enterprises are targeting some of the most important Greek ports and all airports, expecting that the country’s tourism development will continue and expand, in particular into the winter season.

Tourism competitiveness does not depend only, or basically, on price, reputed the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises after a recent report released by the World Economic Forum. The report on travel and tourism competitiveness, which placed Greece number 24 in a list of 124 countries, should help understand why some countries capitalize on tourism, while others are left behind.

World travel and tourism is expected to generate in excess of $7 trillion in 2007, rising to over $13 trillion over the coming decade according to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) research, sponsored by Accenture and prepared by Oxford Economics.

A recent survey by the Marc group, which was ordered by the Greek National Tourism Organization, shows that tourism services in Greece are on at least the same level as those of the rest of Europe, but quality-price is not. The survey was completed in mid January and concentrated on the Attica region. Some 1,200 men and women were surveyed.