Europeans are avoiding vacations to Greece this
summer fearing instability sparked by the debt crisis.
"From
the aftermath of the elections on May 6, we have experienced a 50 percent drop
in bookings," said George Drakopoulos, director general of the association
of Greek tourism enterprises (SETE).
Though
tourism from Germany
this year is back on the rise, overall booking numbers are still plummeting
ahead of the busy summer season, Drakopoulos said. "Hotels make appealing
offers, but that is not the issue here. For many of the tourists visiting Greece , it is a
matter of security on top of value for money." This comes after a
particularly profitable 2011 season, where Greece
benefited from the unrest in the northern Africa .
According
to SETE, tourism represents 15.7 percent of Greece 's output and employs 768,000
people, either directly and indirectly.
"Athens is the city that
has suffered the greatest damage. Fewer tourists visit Athens and this takes its toll on other
cities," said Panagiotis Moriatis, president of the association of hotel
owners of Nafplion.
"Last
year we had a 10 percent rise in German tourists. This year we have a 25 to
30-percent drop. German tourists are afraid that they are in danger if they
visit Greece ,"
said SETE's Drakopoulos.
But
Sybille Zeuch of the German Travel Association (DRV) said that, despite a
lukewarm start in early 2012, bookings are on the rise over the past few weeks.
For
TUI's German travelers, Greece
is the third most popular holiday destination, after Spain
and Turkey .
On
the other hand, industry experts do not expect a drop in Italian and Spanish
markets. Roberto Corbella, head of the association of Italian tour operators
(ASTOI) said that Italians are not afraid to visit Greece ,
as problems are centered in Athens
and the majority of Italian tourists travel directly to Greek islands with
charter flights. John Kester, an industry trend observer of the United Nations
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said Greece has its "loyal
followers, people who know the country first-hand, and that audience stays
loyal" and is not influenced by media coverage.
But
the French are reticent to vacation in Greece , experts said.
"We are facing a 30
percent drop in summer bookings compared to last year. There is a psychological
impact ... that is certain," said Rene-Marc Chikli, head of the
association of French tour operators (CETO).
Source: AFP
Source: AFP