The president of the Santorini Hoteliers Association, Mr. Antonis Pagonis, received messages of a decline in tourist demand for Greece and Santorini from the British market for the 2026 season from the international tourism exhibition WTM in London.
According to statements by Mr. Pagonis to TornosNEWS, so far a decrease in pre-bookings for Greece of the order of 18% has been recorded compared to last year’s WTM, where pre-bookings for 2025 were in positive territory.
At the same time, “low flights” are also recorded in demand for the flagship of Greek tourism, Santorini. The destination, compared to the very positive bookings recorded during last year’s WTM, before the “disruption” brought by the seismic activity in February 2025, is showing losses this year, being “exposed”, for another year, to the possibility of negative performance.
However, Mr. Pagonis estimates that “there is hope” that the picture will change and demand will warm up after the Christmas campaigns.
The president of the Hoteliers’ Association explained that the decline in the British market is due to the delay in the presentation of the country’s new budget – it will be held on November 26 – which is feared to bring tax increases and fiscal cuts in order to cover a possible “black hole” of 50 billion pounds in the public finances of the United Kingdom.
This development is creating shocks in the middle class of the UK, although the appetite for travel remains strong.
Airlines are “cutting” planes and capacities
The decrease in demand is also reflected in the decisions of air carriers and tour operators. As the president of the Santorini Hotel Association pointed out, the airlines Jet2 and easyjet are reducing their aircraft to Greece during the new season and British Airways is discussing such a possibility. TUI, as he said, although it is not limiting the number of aircraft, is “cutting some seats” to Greece.
At the same time, Mr. Pagonis conveyed to TornosNEWS his perception that there will also be losses in cruises, to Greece and Santorini, from the British market, as a conclusion from the contacts he had during the WTM.
On the positive side of this year, Santorini’s reputation has been restored, following the concerns that prevailed in 2025 due to geological phenomena on the island. “This year we are hearing the best about Santorini, its visitors had very good experiences and we have very good feedback,” stressed Mr. Pagonis.
Fees need to be reciprocated and VAT rates reduced on the islands
The president of the Santorini Hoteliers’ Association stressed the need to stop shifting responsibilities to Greek tourism, and that it is necessary to “face our problems head on”.
The reduced VAT rate needs to be reinstated on the islands, he stressed, as its abolition goes against European directives and circumvents the principle of insularity.
Furthermore, as he said, the taxes that burden tourism need to be returned to the destinations to improve their infrastructure. In this context, the return on the climate change tax should be ensured, “which alone from the hotels of Santorini reaches 50 million this year”, he underlined.
Regarding the cruise fee, Mr. Pagonis stressed that it should be applied where it is really needed. These revenues should be used to improve the infrastructure of the destinations, instead of going to the central treasury of the state, such as for example the share of the cruise fee that is legislatively directed to local government, which “first goes to the Ministry of the Interior and then is attributed to the municipalities”.
“Tourism should consider its share of responsibility in protecting the environment, but every other sector should do the same”, he concluded.
The Santorini Hoteliers Association was “present” at the WTM exhibition in London through its president and board member George Dimitrokalis, who held meetings with executives from TUI, easyjet holidays, jet2holidays and British Airways.
Meetings were also held with the Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogianni, the Secretary General of the Greek National Tourism Organization Andreas Fiorentino and officials from the Greek tourism sector.
