Government blamed for the drop in visitors
Tourism industry representatives say that the number of foreign visitors has fallen precipitously and are blaming this on the government’s deficient advertising campaign. Hotel owners in the country’s main tourist destinations, the islands of Corfu, Crete and Rhodes, say that the number of clients has dropped, in some cases, by 20 percent compared to the previous year. Even worse, they say, the average stay has shortened. The figures may be debatable – it has been observed that many businessmen, active in either tourism or retail commerce, have a habit of saying that business is down 20 percent on the previous year – but according to market insiders, official statistics are indeed expected to show a small decline in the number of tourists. In the April-June period, there was, indeed, a decline in the number of visitors to Greece. This was reflected in the increase in the number of cheap packages offered to Greek vacationers. In July and August, the peak of the holiday season, business is expected to be brisk as usual. Hotel owners say they will extend their hotels’ operating seasons well into October, hoping that they can, to an extent, compensate for lost business in the April-June period. The most optimistic of them hope that, overall, the number of tourist arrivals through the year will only fall by two to three percent, and will be around 12.5 million. The pessimists talk of a recession similar to that in 1995-97, when a combination of factors – an expensive currency, forest fires and fears of tensions between Greece and Turkey – resulted in a precipitous decline in the number of visitors. Even those who think that, in the end, the decline in visitors for the year will be small, are certain that revenues will drop significantly, as hoteliers and travel agents offered significant discounts to attract tourists. The biggest loss of business, tourism professionals say, came from Germany, usually the single most important source of visitors to Greece. They also fear that there will be increased pressure to offer even deeper discounts next year. If one believes the tourism industry, the root cause of all this is the government’s inability to respond to the new, more competitive conditions prevailing since the terrorist attacks on New York City last September 11. Reluctance on the part of many to travel has had countries competing for a reduced pool of travelers. Also, industry professionals say, the government has only belatedly started to promote Greece as the place where the 2004 Olympics will take place. The European Commission has the job of policing public budgets and is anxious to reassert its authority.
