Industry Reports & Trends

Trendwatching.com – an Amsterdam-based independent trend agency that uncovers global consumer trends – says that the desire for a more luxurious “home away from home” has become a popular global trend.

Positive remarks for Greece in general and Athens in particular were included in the recent annual report of vacation preferences formulated by the Association of British Travel Agents. For 2005 vacation possibilities, the association reminded members of the efforts carried out by Greece to enrich its tourism product and to develop its lodging infrastructure.

November 2004 saw a considerable decline in occupancy at Athens hotels of all categories, compared with the same month in 2003, according to the Attica Hotel Association. In some categories, the drop exceeds 25 percent.

Some local tourism professionals, but not all, foresee yet another unhealthy year for Greek tourism because of a weak dollar and stagnant European economies, all of which they say would offset any gains expected from the country’s successful holding of last August’s Athens Olympics.

Members of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises say the initial indications for 2005 do not justify any special optimism and that unless the government speeds up its promised tourism projects, Greece will not be able to take advantage of the successful holding of the Olympic Games.

Youthful elderly people in Greece, especially when they have a satisfactory pension, are beginning to change the traditional image. They now have a social life as they go to the theater or the cinema frequently, they meet friends for meals, and they travel – to the extent that their finances permit.

Europe’s tourism specialists seem to be coming around to the view that the era of Greek improvisation is over and that a long-term strategy is evolving. “In 2005, you will see the first recovery signs, but the significant rise will come in the next few years when the results of your new policy become evident,” said the president of the International Federation of Tour Operators (IFTO), Martin Brackenbury.

Sui Hui, commercial councilor in Greece for China’s embassy here, last month told delegates to the seminar “From Athens to Beijing: The Olympic Bridge” that they had best get ready for Chinese visitors, “but first you must get prepared.”

In the recent release of their annual study on Greece’s tourism sector, the directors of Hellenic Tourism Organization offices abroad estimate that arrivals this year will drop by 5.5% against last year, and that the initial outlook for 2005 is not particularly promising concerning arrivals to Greece from its 23 traditional markets.

Α global benchmark survey of convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) was recently released by Dr. Dimitris Koutoulas, a tourism and marketing consultant based in Athens. This survey explores the operational and financial characteristics of CVBs located mainly outside the USA, thus setting industry benchmarks especially from a European perspective.