How many international tourists did Greece welcome in 2010?
According to official figures, we had about 14 million tourists visiting Greece last year, with the overwhelming majority coming from other European countries.
How many tourists do you forecast for 2011?
At the start of the year we began a series of contracts with major travel agencies, educating and updating them on the new government’s tourism strategy. As a result of these efforts, we are cautiously optimistic that 2011 will be a better year for tourism than 2010. Notwithstanding a serious, unforeseen event, we believe there will be a significant increase in tourist arrivals and receipts in 2011.
How has the Greek financial crisis affected tourism in the country?
Our country’s economic crisis affected the whole of Greece, as well as our tourism industry. Arrival figures in 2010 remained about the same as 2009 levels, but tourism operators experienced a reduction in revenue and were forced to reduce their prices.
What are the greatest challenges facing airlines in Greece?
Greece is a sunny and safe destination that can welcome and accommodate visitors throughout the year. This is a major opportunity for airlines who want to increase their passenger potential and transport visitors to attractive destinations 52 weeks per year.
Why has airline competition in Greece been so limited in the past?
Until 18 months ago Olympic Air was a national monopoly. Then, Olympic Airways was privatised and Aegean was integrated and now the situation has changed. This grouping does not affect the competition of airlines from abroad to Greece and I would say that there is clear and healthy competition in the market.
What is Greece doing in order to make the country more airline-friendly and accessible for tourists?
We introduced a law to the Hellenic Parliament for the development of 34 regional airports in the country through mixed corporate formats. The aim is to upgrade facilities and to offer quality service throughout the country’s airports, something that we were previously unable to do due to a lack of public funds. This is a major change for airports and it is hoped that having private companies in the airline development process will help to spread economic benefits and results.
How important to Greece’s tourism strategy is attracting more low-cost airlines?
Communicating with low-cost carriers is already part of our strategy, which is aimed at hosting visitors to the country for all 52 weeks a year. This will negate seasonality issues and will benefit the country’s whole economy.
How significant was Ryanair’s entry into the Greek market?
Of course, this was very important for us, as Ryanair is the largest low-cost airline in Europe, serving 70 million passengers in 2010. Ryanair will expand the number of flights to and from Greece in the summer of 2011, including from Thessalonica, Crete and Corfu.
Which cities or airports are you particularly keen to develop?
Regional airports are critical in lengthening the tourist season and they also allow visitors to the country to enjoy other, new niche tourism products. I mentioned the new legislation earlier, and this grouping is based on geographic location, such as islands with high tourist traffic and frontier areas, such as Ioannina and Alexandroupolis.
Why is Greece a compelling destination for both airlines and tourists?
Greece can, and must, invest in its unique advantages. It has an amazing cultural heritage of antiquity that stretches from the Byzantine Empire until today. Then we have our outstanding natural assets that we must continue to save and restore. Finally, we have our way of life. We must recognise and utilise what experts call polypoikilotita. This is our country’s ability to offer a wealth of experience to many different types of tourists within different lengths of stay.
How important is tourism to Greece, and how much does it contribute to the country each year, in terms of revenues and jobs?
Tourism is a key pillar of the Greek economy. Annually, tourism contributes 18% of the GDP, employing 18.5% of the workforce, which is about 775,000 workers. The numbers leave no doubt as to the important contribution of tourism to our economy.
Which countries are currently your key source markets?
Beyond the traditional European markets of Germany, the UK, France and Italy, we also plan to develop new markets from Russia, China and India, all of which have a particular interest in the country, according to research.
Do you want to grow your existing markets, or attract other new markets?
The logical move is to multiply our guests by increasing the quality of our services. At the same time we are investing in new tourism markets such as Russia by enabling visitors to secure travel visas more easily.
This issue appears in Routes News 2010 Issue 6
