Greece can profit from its competitive advantages and current strong growth by trying to lengthen the tourist season on islands such as Rhodes with sports, culture and nature, tour operators, tourism officials and hoteliers agreed at the recent fvw workshop.
With double-digit growth this summer, Greece has sprinted ahead of Turkey to arise as the second-largest destination for German tourists behind Spain. German visitor numbers already increased by 12% to 3.1 million in 2016, which was the fourth year in a row with strong growth. There was a further 17.3% rise in the first half of this year, and tour operators such as TUI, Alltours and DER Touristik have all seen strong bookings for the destination this summer.
“This year Germany is number one for us in terms of overnight stays,” noted Konstantinos Tsegas, secretary general of the Greek National Tourist Office (GNTO). The outlook for 2018 is also promising with very good early bookings, he told workshop participants. One of the GNTO’s priorities is to develop cruise tourism by winning more cruise lines to the country’s 40 ports.
A major challenge for Rhodes and other islands is how to prolong the season and win more visitors in the spring and autumn when the weather is already or still warm, and ideal for culture or nature trips. “We have the best-possible conditions for this, in terms of nature, climate and culture,” Tsegas emphasised.
The GNTO is focusing on attractive sports events, and even provides financial support for 11 events, including the Athens Marathon with 50,000 runners a year. Rhodes features an annual marathon with 2,000 runners, an annual triathlon, international volleyball championships and Special Olympics events. “Rhodes has ideal conditions for sports holidays but no one knows it,” commented workshop participant Ina Siegel from Lauf Abenteur, which organises trips to marathons around the world.
Nevertheless, such initiatives to lengthen the season will require “extremely strong cooperation” between all players, emphasised Barbara Kirchner, TUI product manager for Greece and Italy. The problem is not only that hotels close for the winter but also the lack of low-season infrastructure such as shops and tourist facilities. She urged concentrating on one specific area for winter tourism. “It makes no sense to open hotels scattered across the whole island,” she said.
Oliver Grosse Kleimann, Alltours’ product manager for Greece, stressed: “There are many good ideas but it is still a long way to successful sports tourism.” Jutta Gaeckel, Thomas Cook’s quality manager, added: “I would like to see more activity and more communication for Rhodes.”
Meanwhile, hoteliers on Rhodes are continuing to invest in expansion and quality. Antonis Cambourakis, vice president of the Hellenic Hotel Association and president of the Rodos Hotel Federation, told the workshop: “Hoteliers on Rhodes are investing further so that we can offer better services.” Investments involve both renovations and new properties, with overall capacity expected to rise by 5,000 beds next year from the present 180,000.
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Source: fvw.com
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