Greek hotels forced to slash price to lure tourists
Greek hoteliers say they have been forced to slash prices by up to 40% to lure overseas visitors in what has been one of the most difficult years for the country’s tourism industry.
The country’s tourism minister Olga Kefalogianni told delegates at World Travel Market yesterday that the number of Britons visiting Greece this year is likely to be up on 2011, but hoteliers said the growth had come at a price.
George Geogidakis, managing director of John & George Group which has two hotels on the Greek mainland said hotels had cut prices by 15%. "This hasn’t been easy because at the same time our costs are up 25%. This means that hotels have to cut something, the staff or the service. Something has to go from the breakfast or the dinner, it’s a difficult balancing act."
Angela Kokolaki of Helios Hotels, which has seven upmarket properties across Greece, said in some cases rack rates had been slashed by 40% for last minute, non-refundable deals, but she insisted that the hotels had managed to maintain standards.
"Everybody across Greece has had to reduce their rack rate by at least 10% this year and on top of that there are special offers, but we are still making money on food and beverages. If we can get people to Greece, we can get them to spend once they are here and we are still able to make a profit."
Whilst Geogidakis said he had seen a fall in visitor numbers, Kokolaki said Helios Hotels, which caters to high-end visitors, was doing well. "People are still coming for the traditional Greek hospitality, for our beaches and our ancient sites," she said. "About 60% of guests at the Elounda Beach in Crete are repeat guests and they have called us with concerns but they have still booked."
Tourism minister Kefalogianni announced Greece will launch an above-the-line marketing campaign in the UK, the first since 2008, but Geogidakis said no amount of advertising would bring back visitors who have been put off by stories of Greece’s economic woes and fears that the country will suddenly bounce out of the Eurozone, causing instant financial crisis.
"What we need is to stop these negative stories in the media," he said. "All the news about Greece means we have lost a year’s business for nothing, because the situation in Greece, for tourists, is fine and we need people to come to Greece to see that what they are reading in the papers isn’t true, to see for themselves that everything is normal in Greece. But most of all we need an end to the negative stories. Then people will come back to Greece."
Diane
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