It seems that Greece hasn’t fallen out of favour with holidaymakers, despite the country’s economic woes.
According to research, there has been a surge in interest for holidays to Greece in the last two weeks, with bookings for all-inclusive holidays to the country rising by a third.
The continued interest in Greece as a holiday destination may also be attributed to the pound’s continuing strength against the euro.
Stephen Dunk, the European managing director of Travelzoo, which carried out the research, said that the increase in interest was a “positive sign for the tourism industry,” which continues to thrive despite the global economic downturn.
The pound recently hit an 18-month high against the euro, meaning that holidaymakers can now really get more for their money with a £1 to €1.20 exchange rate.
Olympic Holidays and other tour operators have slashed the cost of their packages to Greece by as much as 60 per cent, in an attempt to entice holidaymakers to choose the country for their summer break.
In contrast to the increased figures for all inclusive bookings, figures for Travelzoo’s flights to Greece have decreased by 25 per cent over the past two weeks.
“The heightened consumer interest in all-inclusive deals is a real sign of the times, as people attempt to protect themselves ahead of their holidays and ring-fence the amount they spend,” added Mr Dunk.
Tourism is Greece’s biggest industry, generating 16 per cent of GDP in 2011. Recent figures have shown that arrival figures into Athens Airport have decreased. This dropped by 12 per cent in the four months to 30 April, to 564,241, with a decline in April of 7.3 per cent.
However, Greece’s current economic crisis may make it the perfect bargain holiday destination for travellers this summer, with reductions in hotel prices of as much as 50 per cent. This is in addition to cheaper prices in restaurants, taxis and bars.
(Image: Ggia)
