Fraport Greece anticipates best-ever figures
This year is expected to be the best since Fraport Greece took over the management of the 14 regional airports.
As estimated by the company’s general director of development, George Vilos, the number of passengers this year will reach 33.8 million and will be 8.3% higher than in 2022.
Already, between January and October, the largest airports in the region served by 3.5% more visitors compared to the whole of last year. Also, on average, during this November passenger traffic at the 14 airports of Fraport Greece is 15% higher than the same month of 2022.
Despite these best performances of all time, Vilos emphasized that tourism operators should not be complacent. “In some areas the infrastructure is saturated. The visitor needs an hour’s drive to go from one beach to another, which makes the tourist experience unpleasant,” he noted.
In addition to the saturation of the infrastructure, there is the lack of staff, the “unjustified in some cases” rise in prices, but also the geopolitical risk. In the case of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Fraport Greece managed to cover lost tourist inflows, increasing arrivals from the markets of Italy, Austria, Hungary, the United Kingdom and Romania.
The outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war coincided with the end of the tourism season, making it difficult to assess its impact on Greek tourism. It is estimated that approximately 700,000 people from Israel travel to the 14 regional airports annually. In the past tourist season, Fraport Greece managed to successfully manage, as noted by Vilos, a series of crises, such as the fires on Rhodes and the natural disaster that hit Skiathos.
Since 2017, when it took over the concession of the airports, Fraport Greece has invested more than 1.8 billion euros and annually invests €50 million to modernize the airport infrastructure. For example, the airport on Santorini, which had an area of 5,000 sq.m. in 2007, today is three times the size. The company also emphasizes the extension of the tourist season, giving incentives to airlines to carry out flights during the winter months.
According to the data Vilos provided, 62 airlines have benefited from the incentives which brought 200,000 more foreign tourists to the airports in the months of October-November, compared to the same period of 2022.
