In his first exclusive interview to the International Edition of Tornos News, Hellenic Chamber of Hotels President George Tsakiris does not hesitate to open old wounds and fire up the most heated, controversial debate in the Greek travel industry: the long awaited but never delivered prolongation of the tourist season.

Mr. Tsakiris admits that, after many years of unsuccessful attempts, “today everybody has realized that we have to approach the problem the opposite way” and makes a radical proposal that is bound to make waves:

Fully operative

“We need a local tourist agreement, where all local stakeholders will commit themselves in order to keep the destination fully operative for the planned expansion period.”

“It is essential,” he adds, “that every one of us within the industry, realize the fact, that tourists will never decide to spend their holidays at a non-operative destination. Therefore, we have to start our efforts by keeping our destinations “open” and attractive, even during the off season period.”

“It is a late paying back procedure, but necessary, if we want to achieve results.” he concludes in an interview that comes only a few days after Alternate Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura also set the lengthening of the season as the current government’s top priority in the sector.

The full text of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels President interview:

How do you evaluate the year of 2015 in terms of Greece’s tourism sector performance?

So far, considering the available data, we can easily say that we did achieve a new national tourist arrivals record. In order to be more explicit we need to examine the inside quality   figures, such as average revenue per tourist, average length of stay etc. These figures won’t be available before the beginning of next year.

What opportunities and pitfalls does 2016 present for our national tourism industry? 

We consider as opportunity for the Greek tourism industry for the coming year, the expanding trend that has been established the last 3 years, with the continuous rise of the tourist performance figures. We consider as a potential pitfall for 2016, the recent increase of vat rates in the hospitality sector, as well as the maximizing of the so called  “sector of sharing economy”, that in the past year has “swallowed”  from the legitimate sector  more that 25 million overnights, with practically no benefit for the Greek economy.  As a result of this activity, the Athenian hotels have shown, in the last 2 months, a decline of their occupancy rates,  in spite of the fact  that at the relevant  air arrivals figures have presented an  increase.

After three consecutive years of growth, what prospects does the Greek tourism product have?

I would say that Greek tourism, considering the 3 previous years of growth, establishes a growing trend for the upcoming years, while gaining a larger share of the tourist markets.

How can Greece prolong the tourist season? What measures or initiatives are required and what prerequisites have to be met for this long awaited objective to be realized?

Well, it has definitely been a long awaited objective to be realized. Up to now, we believed that in order to prolong the season and decrease the high seasonality demand of our tourist product, we had to begin our efforts firstly, relying on the ministry’s initiatives and secondly, activating the local society support. After many years of unsuccessful attempts, I think that today everybody has realized that we have to approach the problem the opposite way. We need a local tourist agreement, where all local stakeholders will commit themselves in order to keep the destination fully operative for the planned expansion period. It is essential, that every one of us within the industry, realize the fact, that tourists will never decide to spend their holidays at a non-operative destination. Therefore, we have to start our efforts by keeping our destinations “open” and attractive, even during the off season period. It is a late paying back procedure, but necessary, if we want to achieve results.

Source: http://www.tornosnews.gr/en/