Media report: Greek hotels still hope for July openings and tourists coming

After earlier reports that Greece’s tourism sector could lose as much as 70 percent of its revenues if the COVID-19 pandemic lingers, hotel owners are still eyeing July as a target to start reopening some facilities to save the year, according to following article by the National Herald.

The heads of Greece’s five biggest hotel groups told Kathimerini newspaper there’s no chance it will happen before then with international air traffic essentially at a standstill and many countries still locking down citizens to prevent travel.

They said even after Greece lifts its lockdown, which could begin in stages in May, that the tourism industry would have to have health safeguards and restrictions to ease fears of travelers being infected.

For now, they are also hoping that Greeks will travel within their country when hotels start reopening although the losses during the lockdown could be so big that some will stay closed and perhaps even go out of business for good.

Hoteliers expressed satisfaction with the government measures, but also called for more tax breaks, the paper said, with the economic effect of the virus across the board, from Five-Star luxury resorts to small hotels and devastating the short-term rental sector for platforms such as Airbnb.

Tourism makes up as much as 18 percent of the country’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 181.51 billion euros ($200.3 billion,) bringing  in critical revenues and as Greece is facing strong challenges from rival tourism countries.

In 2019, tourism brought in a record 18.179 billion euros ($19.89 billion) but 4.7 billion euros ($5.24 billion) for the second quarter is lost and an annual fall of 70 percent could mean the year’s drop-off would be 12.73 billion euros ($13.92 billion.)

That’s irrecoverable for this year as even if hotels and other tourist sectors gradually reopen early in the summer it’s likely too late as international travelers make plans months in advance and many are seen fearful of going abroad this year at all.

Greece will lose the key markets of Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States as travel restrictions within the country are seen staying in place until mid-June or early July, making the summer an almost certain wipe-out.

That could have a dramatic ripple effect on the rest of the economy and any potential recovery just as a a rebound from a near decade-long crisis worsened by austerity was underway, now off the table.

A study by by the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation (NSETE) presented the grim conclusion of a near-eclipse of the industry, said Kathimerini of the report entitled The COVID-19 Pandemic and Greek Tourism.

It projected plunging revenue losses in 2020. “It also remains uncertain when the emergency measures in Greece and its markets will end, and at what rate the markets will recover,” it said, suggesting a recovery would be long.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

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