The picture of this years winter season in tourism reflects, as STAMA President Nasos Gavalas points out to Tornos News, a clear sense of fatigue, particularly in off-season demand, which is not confined to a single sector but runs through the tourism ecosystem as a whole. The signs of this slowdown are evident in occupancy rates, pricing, and visitor behavior, with travelers appearing more cautious, opting for shorter stays and showing increased sensitivity to costs. As he notes, this is a phenomenon that does not concern short-term rentals alone but reflects a broader shift in demand.
Within the same context, the STAMA President emphasizes that the discussion on off-season tourism requires a different approach. Instead of a dominant narrative centered on overtourism and restrictions, there is a need for an active role by local authorities through thematic initiatives, city breaks, and synergies with culture, gastronomy, and sports. Off-peak tourism, he stresses, is not addressed through bans but is cultivated through targeted interventions. As a characteristic example, he refers to the case of Trikala, where the creation of an integrated Christmas theme park acted as a catalyst for attracting large numbers of visitors from across Greece, demonstrating what can be achieved when there is planning and continuity. In the same vein, he notes that similar initiatives in larger urban destinations, such as Attica, could have multiplier effects.
At the same time, Nasos Gavalas comments on the recent interventions in short-term rentals, both in Athens and Thessaloniki. The ban on new registration numbers (AMA) in central Athens, as he explains, led to greater development of activity in areas outside the restriction zones, a development that does not constitute a new trend. From the very beginning of short-term rentals, approximately eight out of ten properties were not located in the commercial triangle but in surrounding neighborhoods, which in this way gained commercial activity, increased footfall, and investment. The perception that short-term rental activity is exclusively a city-center phenomenon, he notes, is not confirmed by either historical data or the numbers.
Regarding Thessaloniki, he underlines that the new measures are more closely linked to a political effort to send a message of intervention in favor of affordable housing. However, to date, there are no measurable results from the implementation of similar regulations in Athens, which reasonably raises questions about their effectiveness. In the center of Thessaloniki, around 670 listings are currently recorded, a number higher than last year but small relative to the size of the city, making it difficult to argue that such interventions alone can bring about a substantial change in the housing problem.
According to Nasos Gavalas, the critical issue is not the number of available homes but the absence of affordable properties. There are thousands of homes on the long-term rental market with rents exceeding 1,000 euros, prices that the average family cannot afford. In addition, an owner who has invested significant capital in fully renovating a property to meet the requirements of short-term rental is unlikely to return to the long-term market at low rents. For this reason, measures that simply aim to shift properties from short-term to long-term rental are not sufficient to address the issue of affordable housing.
The overall picture, as outlined by Mr. Gavalas on Tornos News, shows that both off-season tourism demand and housing policy require more complex and long-term strategies. Without comprehensive planning and without an understanding of real market data, interventions risk merely shifting the problem rather than resolving it.
