GREECE: Demand For Greece Tourism Shoots Up

Bookings to Greece have exceeded all expectations, said Andrea Springer of Springer Reisen Tour Operators during an event held in Austria.

The head of the Austrian tour operator said that the packages offered for some destinations in Greece had reached 85% capacity. Mrs. Springer presented the data during an event called “Dream journeys” on single theme tourism held on April 3 at the lakeside city of Walden in Austria, which was attended by over 500 guests, including politicians, economic and tourist professionals.

Springer Reisen Tour Operators are the top selling group in the region of Carinthia and one the most prominent in southern Austria.

It offers three 245-page catalogues for Greece, which include a total of 16 destinations. New destinations are added each year, with the 2017 one incorporating direct flights from Gratz to the new airport in the island of Paros.

Bookings show an increased demand of Greece in summer, say German tour operators. According to Deutsche Welle, Germany’s largest tour operator, TUI registered a 4% increase in bookings for Greece in the current winter period and the coming summer, compared to the previous year.

Thomas Cook, which is the second largest operator in terms of turnover, also stated there was a rise in demand for Greece, while All Tours said demand for Greece is “very good” for the summer and “good” for Spain.

In addition, the operator noted a fall in reservations for Turkey. Another operator, DER Touristik, pointed out bookings for Greece have doubled in comparison to last year, with a concurrent increase in demand for countries in the Western Mediterranean.

Holiday bookings for Greece through German tour operator TUI are showing a 30 percent increase this year, which not only concerns popular tourism resorts but other destinations too, according to the company’s head, Marek Andryszak.

Andryszak came to Greece for TUI Germany’s annual meeting with Greek hoteliers in Thessaloniki, and told Kathimerini that the two main reasons Greece is showing such impressive growth in bookings are the low demand for neighboring Turkey and Spain’s failure to match its growth in demand with more beds following last year’s increase.

The TUI official argued that Greece has the opportunity to make the most of its real potential as a destination this season, which it did not do in 2015 and 2016 owing to external factors.

Regarding Greek hotel prices, Andryszak estimated that “ this year the average rate will come to a higher level than last year.” He explained that “this will be mainly due to the earlier reduction in hoteliers’ offers than in previous years as contract rates are slightly increased.”

He also referred to the volume of hotels his company cooperates with in Greece, saying that “TUI has the biggest portfolio it’s ever had in Greece” and attributed the choice of Thessaloniki for the meeting with the Greek hoteliers to the tour operator’s objective being “the recovery of our momentum in the market of northern Greece that has declined since the start of the 2000s.”

Andryszak further revealed to Kathimerini that TUI has decided to launch a global pilot program from Greece – starting on Crete – aimed at connecting tourism with the agricultural sector. A series of actions will be targeted, including the promotion of specific agricultural products through the hotels.

The program will be officially announced at the ITB fair in Berlin that opens on Tuesday.

The number of inbound tourists from China to Greece in the summer season of 2017 is expected to rise significantly, according to data.

The projection is confirmed by a notable increase in tax free sales in Greece in the first 3-month period of 2017 compared to 2016. A mere 150,000 Chinese tourists visited Greece last year, a number that is estimated to be much higher this year.

Data released by Premiere Tax Free Greece show that visitors from China are choosing Greece as a destination, reoccupying first spot among the nationalities, as 31% of all Tax Free transactions was covered by Chinese in the first 3 months of 2017. Chinese national spend an average of 330 euros with a preference to jewellery and clothing.

“Russia, FYROM and the US choose our country with great fervour and contribute to a 60% rise in profits via Tax Free transactions in Athens, Rhodes and Thessaloniki”, said Aggeliki Kalogiannidou, marketing manager of Premiere Tax Free Greece.

She went on to add that purchases were up by 109% for Chinese, 65% by Russians, 87% by Americans and 37% by FYROM and Israel, a 200% rise compared to the first 3-month term of 2016. Athens Tax Free is on top accounting for 52% of Tax Free transactions, while Thessaloniki came in second.

It should be noted that two Chinese cultural exhibitions are scheduled to officially open on Thursday, April 27 in the framework of Sino-Hellenic cultural exchange year at the Byzantine and Christian Museum.

China’s ambassador to Greece, Zou Xialoi, said on Wednesday that there are strong ties between Greece and China in the tourism sector during his speech at the Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum on Wednesday. He underlined that there is prospect for a further increase in flows between both countries.

A catalyst for an increase to tourism is the settlement of Visa and the strengthening of direct air links between the two countries. He proposed specific actions that would help increase Chinese tourist arrivals even more than last year’s 100,000 visitors to Greece.

For instance, the Chinese fashion of getting married in Greece is viewed as an excellent opportunity for attracting tourists to Greek islands, especially Santorini.

The Chinese Ambassador also referred to the market of elderly tourists. In China, people over 60 years are estimated at 200 million. These people want to come to Greece to explore ancient Greek civilization.

He also advised that Greece do more to attract student tourism, noting that China’s youth needs to visit the cradle of European civilization.

He praised the joint promotional actions and participation of Greece country in international tourism fairs in China.

Alt. Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura said that Greece aims to become China’s first choice in Europe.

Greek products such as olive oil and wine could have a significant presence in the electronic platform of Alibaba Group, the managing director of Alibaba for Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece said on Wednesday.

Addressing an event organized by the Athens Chamber of Tradesmen, he said that tourism was a sector with significant growth prospects, while products with comparative advantages such as wine and olive oil could also have a significant presence in the e-platform.

He added that middle class Chinese consumers were very interested in international brands and particularly European products and services.

He noted there was a dynamic consumer category in China, belonging to the middle class, young in age and familiar with e-commerce and Internet, interested in travelling to Greek islands and in buying Greek products.

Alibaba’s platform includes hundreds of millions of products in 40 different main categories. Buyers of these products are located in more than 190 countries and regions, exchanging 100,000 messages on a daily basis.

GREECE: German Tourists Flocking In To Greece

Tour operators assure that German tourists are regaining their trust and plan ahead for their holidays with Greece being a top destination choice this season.

The situation is very different from last year when tourists had been scared by the terrorist attacks in Paris, Istanbul and Brussels and were hesitant to book holiday packages.

"The willingness of citizens to travel abroad this year is great in all our markets despite the political and economic uncertainty that exists," says Peter Fankhauser, head of the Thomas Cook group and adds that reservations have increased by 10% compared to last year.

The same sentiment prevails in the announcements from Tui and DER Touristik while,baccording to the GfK Consumers' Institute, by the end of March bookings had increased by 5% having reached 64% of last year's total already.

However, last minute bookings are still open, mainly in July and it remains unclear whether reservations will reach or exceed 2015, a record year for tourism.

Greece is the country that attracts many holidaymakers, continuing thus the tradition of recent years. The popular destination benefits from the unstable political situation in Turkey. "At present, tourists are very skeptical about Turkey, and reservations are lower in 2017 than last year," said DER Touristik.

In particular TS, Jahn Reisen, Dertour, Meier's Weltreisen and ADAC are satisfied with the bookings. "Reservations for all destinations are up by single digits," says Rene Hertz, head of DER Touristik for Central Europe.

Having said all this, Spain remains the top preference of Germans. At the same time, tourism destinations in Germany are also greatly expanding, while Egypt is starting to experience a new period of rebirth, as 2016 was a very difficult year for the country and only 654,000 Germans visited it.

The consequences of the recent terrorist attack on the Coptic Christian minority with 40 dead and 110 injured remain unknown.

"Terrorism has an impact on tourist destinations and on travelers' behavior, but it does not affect travel," the FUR Institute reports.

Greek tourism officials are counting on a rise in demand from UAE travellers this year to support growth plans for the sector.

Visitor numbers from the UAE to the Greek capital of Athens jumped 20 per cent from 2015 to 2016, Elena Kountoura, the country’s tourism minister, told The National ahead of the opening of Arabian Travel Market in Dubai on Sunday.

She did not disclose exact figures.

The country now expects exponential growth in travel between the two countries since Emirates began operating a Dubai-Athens-Newark route in March.

The United States is home to the largest overseas Greek community in the world.

Mrs Kountoura said the Emirates flight was "very successful and the best flight they have right now for occupancy, beyond all expectations".

The increase in tourists to Greece from the UAE and wider Mena region, which showed 55 per cent growth year-on-year in 2016, is a promising development for a country beleaguered for almost seven years by a rolling crisis over its €321 billion (Dh1.26 trillion) debt pile, owed to domestic and international creditors, including other European Union member states.

"We expect 30 million visitors in 2017 assuming everything stays like it is," said Mrs Kountoura.

One million direct and indirect jobs

Tourism is worth 20 per cent of our GDP with one million direct and indirect jobs. It is hugely important to us and we have focused on extending the season, promoting different sectors like cultural tourism and religious tourism, pushed to open new markets, like the UAE and China.

Mrs Kountoura said that there was the possibility of meaningful cooperation on the tourism sector between Greece and the UAE.

Dubai has done an amazing job adding attractions and high-end tourists. Greece is known as a value-for-money destination where you can get great deals, and the cost of living is not high.

We were one of the first countries to agree to participate in Expo 2020 because we see the chance of working together. It is a totally different market as our target groups are not the same, we offer a cultural and ancient history combined with an island experience.

The ebullience of Greece’s tourism market, where the UK is third on its list of visitor numbers, could be tempered by the UK’s Brexit decision but is sanguine over the effects.

It has been suggested the no-frills operators such as Ryanair and easyJet may have to leave the UK if they still want to ply their trade in Europe.

We have spoken to UK businesses and they believe everybody want to make a successful business,said Mrs Kountoura. I am not going to second guess complicated conversations but focus on the positive.

The number of inbound tourists from China to Greece in the summer season of 2017 is expected to rise significantly, according to data. The projection is confirmed by a notable increase in tax free sales in Greece in the first 3-month period of 2017 compared to 2016.

A mere 150,000 Chinese tourists visited Greece last year, a number that is estimated to be much higher this year. Data released by Premiere Tax Free Greece show that visitors from China are choosing Greece as a destination, reoccupying first spot among the nationalities, as 31% of all Tax Free transactions was covered by Chinese in the first 3 months of 2017.

Chinese national spend an average of 330 euros with a preference to jewellery and clothing.

Russia, FYROM and the US choose our country with great fervour and contribute to a 60% rise in profits via Tax Free transactions in Athens, Rhodes and Thessaloniki”, said Aggeliki Kalogiannidou, marketing manager of Premiere Tax Free Greece.

She went on to add that purchases were up by 109% for Chinese, 65% by Russians, 87% by Americans and 37% by FYROM and Israel, a 200% rise compared to the first 3-month term of 2016.

Athens Tax Free is on top accounting for 52% of Tax Free transactions, while Thessaloniki came in second. It should be noted that two Chinese cultural exhibitions are scheduled to officially open on Thursday, April 27 in the framework of Sino-Hellenic cultural exchange year at the Byzantine and Christian Museum.

Investments In Vital German Market After Sharm Exit

Egypt is set to invest substantially in the German market to compensate for fewer tourists from Russia and the UK and after German tour operators also pulled out of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The German market has become even more important for Egypt after Russia banned all flights to the country and the UK issued a travel warning for Sharm el-Sheikh in response to the recent Russian jet crash in the Sinai Peninsula, which killed 224 people.

German tour operators have now also pulled out of Sharm el-Sheikh after the German transport ministry ordered all passenger baggage on return flights to be transported separately on cargo aircraft for security reasons. The foreign ministry has not issued any specific advice for the destination. In response, FTI, the largest German tour operator to Egypt, TUI, Thomas Cook and DER Touristik all announced on Monday (November 16) that they would suspend all holidays in the Egyptian resort.

FTI CEO Dietmar Gunz said the tour operator and flight partner Sun Express “were completely surprised” by the transport ministry’s decision. “We cannot subject our customers to that,” he said. FTI said there would be no departures before next March, and offered all customers free re-bookings to alternative destinations, including Hurghada and Marsa Alam, or free cancellations. However, like with other German tour operators, Sharm el-Sheikh is only a minor destination for FTI, accounting for about 7% of its total customer volumes in Egypt.

TUI, Thomas Cook and DER Touristik cancelled all holidays in the Egyptian resort until January 31, 2016, and are offering customers a free re-booking to an alternative destination or a full refund. Egypt specialist ETI is offering free re-bookings or cancellations for departures up to December 12 but has not yet decided how to handle bookings for the Christmas/New Year holiday period.

The German market had been performing well this year until the Russian plane crash on October 31. Visitor numbers increased by 20% up to the end of September and tour operators had double-digit growth in bookings for the forthcoming winter season. But bookings have reportedly weakened in the last fortnight.

In response to the latest developments, Egypt is planning substantial investments in the German market. Tamer Marzouk, head of the tourist office in Berlin, told fvw that the tourism ministry is reviewing subsidies for selected charter flights to the country and will launch a new marketing campaign. “We are investing massively to support the important and stable German market,” he said. A new advertising campaign will start as planned at the beginning of December to stimulate demand.

In addition, officials are in talks with German tour operators over the charter flight subsidies that were already extended at the end of October for a further six months. The subsidies are paid on condition that the minimum seat occupancy level is reached and that more flights are operated than in the same month of the previous year. The subsidies vary by airport, with minimum load factors of 40% for Assuan, Luxor and Taba, 50% for Marsa Alam, and 60% for Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh. But German tour operators are now concerned that they might not achieve these requirements if bookings weaken in the coming weeks.

Marzouk pointed out that Sharm el-Sheikh is only a small destination for German tourists, in contrast to Russian and British holidaymakers. “Sharm el-Sheikh didn’t play a big role with only seven out of 150 weekly flights from Germany,” he said.

The tourism chief still hopes to reach the target of one million German tourists in Egypt this year despite the latest setbacks. Last year, just over 877,000 Germans travelled to the country. “Advance bookings until the end of December are good,” he pointed out. This was confirmed by TUI Germany’s tourism director Oliver Dörschuck who said: “We have a decline for Egypt at present. But for the winter more bookings are coming in again at short notice.”