Holiday bookings disappointing
With Greeks cutting back on holidays both abroad and at home or even canceling their travel plans altogether as they feel the heat of the financial crisis, bookings for the October 28 national holiday are moving sluggishly, according to sources.
Representatives at hotels in fall and winter destinations across the country say that despite reductions in rates and special deals, reservations are down compared to last year, even though the holiday lands on a Friday, making it ideal for a three-day escape.
At the same time, sales of organized packages by tour agents for Greece and abroad have also seen a decline this year compared to 2010.
Bookings in Karpenisi, a popular winter destination in central Greece, are slightly lower this year compared to last, despite a campaign to offer more attractive prices, according to the president of the Evrytania Hoteliers? Association, Panayiotis Mantzoufas. The biggest difference compared to other years, he says, is that fewer people are planning their own trips and more are looking to join groups or sign on for a package deal in order to secure cheaper prices.
Furthermore, Mantzoufas added, ?people will come for two nights only; few stay on for a third.?
Hoteliers in Karpenisi and the broader Evrytania region are targeting residents of Thessaloniki especially — as October 26 is also the feast day of the northern port city?s patron saint, Aghios Dimitrios — with offers of special package deals.
?There are a lot of rooms available in Pilio at very low prices,? for the October 28 holiday, according to the head of the Hoteliers? Association of Magnesia in central Greece, Costas Leventis. Prices are even more attractive if holidaymakers decide to stay for more than two nights, according to Leventis, who added that ?even though the holiday comes on a Friday, we have not seen the demand we expected. Nevertheless, we are staying optimistic.?
Leventis sees the crisis as the main reason behind the drop in reservations, as financial worries put Greeks off the idea of making travel plans.
Dinos Dafalias, head of the Association of Hoteliers
