Foreign airlines are fighting for spaces at Greek airports, as pent-up demand for travel offsets factors that are serving as a deterrent, such as high inflation.
British Airways, Ryanair, EasyJet and Jet2 will have more flights to Greece than in 2019, the last “regular” year for tourism, when arrivals in the country reached record levels of 31 million people. Air France and Transavia will also have a strong presence, Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias told Bloomberg.
The three major US airlines will carry about 3,000 visitors a week from Atlanta, Georgia, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, with many arriving in the country for cruises to the Greek islands.
Direct flights from Canada will start on April 2, while visitors from Australia are expected to reach record levels. In addition, Qatar Airways plans flights to islands such as Mykonos and Santorini.
“There is a real competition between the airlines to find slots at Greek airports, both on the islands and in Athens,” said the Minister of Tourism.
The government estimates that the tourism recovery this year could reach 80% of the levels of 2019, when tourism revenues rose to 18 billion euros. Last year, it reached about 60%. These estimates were announced shortly before the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
According to Mr. Kikilias, the demand is especially resilient in Britain and Germany, which are the largest markets for Greece, while significant numbers of visitors are expected to come from Scandinavia.
Although new bookings slowed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there have been few cancellations other than those made by Russians, who are already a small number of visitors. According to the Minister of Tourism, bookings from April onwards are steadily gaining ground.
From the second half of the year, restrictions on travel to China due to the coronavirus are expected to ease.
The government’s goal, however, is not to increase the number of visitors, but to upgrade the quality of the tourism product and bring in more revenue, following the progress made in 2021, when the average cost per visit increased to 600 euros from 520 euros.
This article was previously published in Greek at moneyreview.gr.
