Summer tourism season kicks off in Greek island of Rhodes earlier than ever

The first charter flight arrived on Saturday at the "Diagoras" airport of Rhodes, transferring the first tourists of the season to the island, ANA reports.

Specifically, at 12 noon, the first international flight from London landed, kicking off the summer tourism season for 2023.

In a statement, the mayor of Rhodes, Antonis Kambourakis, stressed: "Rhodes is once again at the top. For the first time so early, the tourist season opens in Rhodes with charter flights from Great Britain. Rhodes marks the opening of the summer for all of Greece."

Meanwhile, Greek Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias in an interview with TV ACTION on Friday referred to the optimistic forecast for the next tourism season, the opening to new markets, and the promotion of new destinations as a result of the government's strategy for the extension of the tourism season.

Kikilias announced that 2023 has begun with the best prospects noting that "in the first 19 days of February 2023 the passenger traffic at the Athens International Airport was 2.8 pct up compared to January 2023 and 5 pct up in comparison with the same period in 2019.

Referring to the success in 2022, he pointed out that the travel revenues were close to those of 2019 despite the loss of four major markets, those of Russia and Ukraine due to the war, and China and Australia due to the restriction measures for the pandemic.

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