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Tourism: Agencies expect boom of tourists going to Greece in 2016 and recommend early booking
The number of tourists, Romanians included, who will spend their vacation in Greece in 2016 will grow, agencies estimating a real boom. We expect an important increase of the number of tourists who will spend their vacations in Greece in 2016, and for that hotel owners will apply a price increase of only 3-5% and just in rare cases of 10%. Greece is not a destination in which tourists have to worry as the banking system is back to normal.
Tourists were not affected in the period of crisis, said the general manager of Christian Tour, Marius Pandel.
In tourist resorts all concentrate on satisfying their clients. The Greeks know that most of the country’s economy is based on tourism.
“All big markets export tourists to Greece especially since problems have appeared in Tunisia. There will be increases between 2% and 10% according to hotel. I advise tourists to buy their vacations for Greece in the early booking period, as there will be a boom in Greece. We have many contracts negotiated for a period of 3-4 years and so prices cannot grow,”says Marius Pandel.
Representatives of travel agencies say that Greece has been growing as a holiday destination in the last years and that will not change in 2016.
Christian Tour group entered the Greek hotel market in 2013 and will continue investments as a sign of confidence in Greek tourism.
“We will continue investments in Greek hotels. Greece has landscapes which EU, IMF and World Bank cannot take. They have a beautiful relief, have a different idea about living, it is a paradise and tourists will continue to come as they have been doing for 100 years. We are negotiating to buy a hotel in Corfu and hope we can sign the contract for the new hotel of 4 or 5 stars by the end of the year,’Pandel added.
In his turn, Alin Burcea, the first vice-president of ANAT, considers that prices of tourist packages for Greece will grow up by 5%.
“For 2015, tourist packages will grow by 5% as they cannot afford increase prices more. Greece will continue to be all right. They had good sales even this year,” Burcea said.
Although they count on an increase of the number of people who want to spend their vacations in Greece, other agencies estimate that tourist packages will have lower prices.
Last year Greece reported an excess of current account of 1.66 billion euros, on the rise compared to 1.09 billion euros in 2013, thanks to incomes from tourism, which went up by 10.6% in 2014 to the record level of 13.44 billion lei.
Tourist arrivals in Greece grew by 23% in 2014, reaching a record of 22 millions, a sign of vitality in that sector on which the Greek state is counting to relaunch economy.
“The prices of packages for Greece will drop due to competition, especially for destinations in Turkey and Spain. They will drop prices to avoid losing their clients. We are negotiating at present. We will sign contracts in September. I estimate that prices will be 5% cheaper. We are planning to develop a series of destinations starting from Timisoara for Zakynthos and from Cluj for Crete by charter flights,” said Cosmin Marinof, national sales manager TUI Travel Center through Eurolines.