Athens hotels still reeling from riots
Athens hotels have suffered greatly as a result of the riots during protests against the government?s austerity measures last week, with the number of stay-overs canceled in 21 of the capital?s hotels amounting to 20,000 since then, according to the Athens-Attica Hoteliers Association.
There has also been a drop in the number of new bookings, all due to the negative publicity concerning the city.
The association?s head, Yiannis Retsos, suggested that since the violent demonstrations at the end of 2008, hotels in Athens have lost 30 percent of their revenues.
Tim Ananiadis, director general of the Hotel Grande Bretagne in central Athens, said that the first thing foreign visitors ask about is whether the Greek destination (and not just the capital) is safe.
The Athens Intercontinental estimates its loss at about 2.8 million euros.
