The president of the Hellenic Federation of Hoteliers Grigoris Tassios said that the New Year is expected to be full of challenges making a review of 2019 which was marked by Thomas Cook bankruptcy, ANA reports.
Speaking to Athens-Macedonian News Agency on Thursday he said that “2019 was a year of correction, there were destinations that did well, especially the islands and in particular the southern Aegean while the mainland did not have the same occupancy rates. Thomas Cook bankruptcy brought reversals at economic levels while the sector is still expecting some different approach from the government in terms of our standing requests” Tassios said.
“I would say that Greece has entered a stability procedure in the last years as regards the tourist arrivals, however, the short letting has brought a huge reversal in the market and that’s why we see many arrivals but not the respective overnight stays. We are waiting to see the framework in this sector in January.
Referring to 2020, he pointed out that it is expected to be a year with many challenges. “There is a geopolitical factor. Turkey wants many tourists and Cyprus as well. At the same time, we see the UK returning to the market despite the Brexit where the condition appears to be manageable. On the other hand, Germany is in a ‘hypnosis’ as we have a long way to cover to restore the damage that brought Thomas Cook’ bankruptcy” added Tassios.
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