This years holiday season is expected to be disastrous for tourism in Trikala, as a result of ongoing farmers protests and road blockages on the national highway. As Konstantinos Papapoulios, president of the Trikala Hoteliers Association, told Tornos News, hotels are already experiencing a massive wave of cancellations, with the market losing a critical percentage of bookings within just a few days.
Meanwhile, Mylos ton Xotikon (Mill of the Elves), the most popular festive landmark in the region, is not expected to be flooded with visitors. According to the hotel association president, travel from Athens and Thessaloniki has become extremely difficult, compressing the traditional family flow that has reliably supported the destination.
At this point, it should be noted that detours have led to unprecedented delays. A journey that under normal circumstances does not exceed three hours from Athens or Thessaloniki can now take up to eight hours, a development that discourages visitors and intensifies the wave of cancellations.
At the same time, the sector is under severe pressure, as businesses have already made holiday season hires and risk being unable to meet their obligations. Hotel occupancy barely reaches 30%, whereas last year at the same time weekend occupancy exceeded 70%, and in December the destination traditionally reached high occupancy rates.
According to the Hoteliers Association, whose portfolio includes at least 2,000 beds, the situation affects not only accommodations but the entire local economy, from catering to retail. The president appeals for the E65 highway to remain open and for the stop-and-go closure model not to continue, as it disrupts travelers planning and destabilizes the destination during a peak demand period.
It is worth noting that Trikala, along with Meteora, has historically been one of Greeces most popular winter destinations. Ensuring smooth accessibility is absolutely critical to limiting damage and salvaging part of the holiday traffic.
In any case, developments in the coming days will determine the extent of losses for a destination considered every year one of the hot spots of winter tourism in Greece.
