Ηigh concerns about the bookings and the arrivals of the Russian and the Ukrainian tourists are expressed by travel agencies, which are struggling to cover the losses that will arise due to the geopolitical developments. At the same time, Greece faces strong competition from both Turkey and Spain, which seek to draw tourists from the same countries, as well. “If in the previous years we had 10 pre-bookings, now we just have one. And this one pre-booking is usually made by tourists from England, who are less affected by the war,” said the president of the Panhellenic Hoteliers Federation, Mr Grigoris Tasios, during a press conference for the presentation of the “I support Horeca” Alliance.

Travel agents are particularly concerned about the impact of the travel costs rises, in the second half of 2022 – due to the surge in energy costs and commodity prices. A development that is estimated to affect and further discourage potential tourists to book holidays. It is estimated that the cost of a journey within Europe is expected to increase by around 5%-10%, while the cost of a journey from a distant destination outside Europe may increase more than 10%.

Concerns

More concerned are the hoteliers who had exclusive cooperation with tourist offices in Russia and Ukraine. In Crete alone, in 2021, tourists from Ukraine doubled compared to 2019, while, for this year, it is estimated that they would exceed 150,000. A total of 800,000 tourists are estimated to have been killed by Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. Road tourism is also of high concern, mainly from the large markets of Poland and Romania that are under great pressure due to an increase in the cost of living.

Greek travel agents (ECTA) have urged the creation of a strategic plan to promote European tourism in distant markets, such as the USA, Canada, Latin America, South-East Asia and China, Australia, Africa, the United Arab Emirates and India, in order to compensate for losses from the Russian market in 2022, but also to boost tourism flows from these markets and to travel to European destinations. Particular emphasis is put on catching up with the Western European and the US markets.

USA

The American market seems to have the best growth prospects, so far. This is why, since 6 March, airlines have increased the number of routes, with the prospect of reaching 14 daily services on direct flights. Many hopes are also placed on the British tourists, who show – at least so far – not to be affected by the geopolitical developments and continue to book packages in some popular destinations of Greece, such as Crete, Rhodes and Corfu.

Headlines