Halkidiki received approximately 1.2 million visitors per day this year during the three months of the high season, confirming its potential as a leading road tourism destination in Northern Greece. Despite the difficult start to the summer, the region recorded a strong recovery from August onwards, with occupancy rates approaching last year’s levels.
As the president of Polychronos Rooms for Rent, Asterios Kaiafas, pointed out to Tornos News, June and July were lower than expected, however “from August until now we have worked very well. The year is like last year – everyone in Halkidiki worked”.
According to him, while rental accommodation showed positive results, catering and retail faced significant difficulties due to punctuality and reduced consumption. “The shops had a lot of problems, they are very expensive. We did well in accommodation, but the cost has been passed on everywhere,” he stressed.
The majority of visitors to the region, as he said, come from the Balkan countries, with Serbs, Macedonians, Moldovans and Turks forming the backbone of the tourist flow. “In Polychrono, 70% of our customers are Balkan. They all come by road. As a village, we receive about 15,000 people a day at the peak of the season,” he noted.
Kavourotrypes Beach, Halkidiki
At this point, it should be emphasized that Mr. Kaiafas expressed his concern about the lack of official data on road tourism, noting that the federation has requested the establishment of a voucher system through travel agencies, so that arrivals can be recorded by country of origin. “They come in bulk, without knowing who they are and where they come from. The agencies have the data, but there is no recording at the borders,” he said characteristically.
At the same time, he spoke of a significant reduction in the active members of the association, which have been reduced from 200 to 120, as many properties have been purchased by Serbian and Macedonian individuals. “Many bring people without declaring them anywhere, and this is a big complaint for us,” he pointed out.
In any case, Halkidiki continues to rely on the flow of Balkan markets, highlighting for another year road tourism as a key pillar of sustainability, with simultaneous challenges related to supervision, standardization and digital monitoring of arrivals.
