TOURISM

Government officials believe that if the investment projects, most of which are in tourism, are launched by the end of this year then the benefits to the economy will be maximized.

After the upcoming start of preliminary construction work at Hellinikon, where the demolition of existing buildings will begin, a series of projects are taking place throughout the country, which had delayed for years and now, one after the other, will begin construction work, or have their licensing process completed.

As Minister of Tourism Harry Theoharis told, «Tourists originating from airports listed on EASA are obliged to be tested once they land in Greece and remain at a designated hotel for one day," in order for the test results to be completed. "If the test turns out negative, these visitors will then be obliged to observe a 7-day quarantine».

Sources indicate that the extreme scenario of stress tests predicts zero revenue for a hotel business for this year, while for 2021 the projected revenue is adjusted to 65 percent of income recorded in 2019. For 2022, the projected revenue is considered to amount to 85 percent. 

Based on data, especially for popular island destinations in the country, the most likely scenario for this summer is for a drop in visitors and revenues in the sector of more than 80 percent. There is a lot of concern in the tourism sector about current conditions with most hotels preferring to stay shut in June and July.

Tourism Minister Haris Theoharis had a series of meetings with several German government officials during his visit to Berlin, as well as senior Condor Airlines executives, who informed him that the airline has 150 scheduled flights to Greece each week, to 16 different destinations in the country. Theoharis was in Berlin on Thursday.

Greek tourism has already been hit by cancellations of bookings from Chinese tourists, but the problem is spreading to other markets. The Tourism Ministry had been planning for a sharp increase in Chinese visitors but targetted growth for 2020 is off the table.

Analysts, business and bank officials described the coronavirus as posing a serious risk to the macroeconomic environment, meaning that Greece is less likely to achieve its target for economic growth of 2.8 percent for this year. Experts point to a 0.1 percent cut to forecast global growth for this year by the IMF, which also reduced its estimate for China's economic expansion by 0.4 percent.

Η Κρήτη παραμένει ο πιο αγαπημένος προορισμός των Ολλανδών στην Ελλάδα, και δείχνουν ιδιαίτερη προτίμηση στη γαστρονομία, τον πολιτισμό και τις δραστηριότητες στη φύση (όπως η ποδηλασία).

Euromonitor International says that it sees the number of tourists reaching Greek shores next year as easing 2 percent to 31.7 million, versus 32.4 million in 2019. This pushes Greece's target for another record year in 2020 out of range as concerns also grow that the sector may not play the crucial role needed to help the economy expand by an ambitious 2.8 percent, as forecast by the government.