Greek tourism tested by coronavirus, bookings drop sharply

After last year's strong performance, where revenues increased by 2 billion euros, the Greek tourism sector is preparing for the upcoming season amidst a severe drop off in bookings.

Tourism is being called upon to operate in an unprecedented environment of uncertainty as the spread of the coronavirus in Europe is making summer vacation planning a difficult task.

Indicative of the uncertainty is the fact that the German TUI, the largest specialty tour operator in the Greek market following the collapse of Thomas Cook, has announced that it is taking emergency measures, including cost reductions and a staff hiring freeze. 

Greek tourism has already been hit by cancellations of bookings from Chinese tourists, but the problem is spreading to other markets. The Tourism Ministry had been planning for a sharp increase in Chinese visitors to 500,000 people in 2021, versus 150,000 in 2019. Targetted growth for 2020 is off the table, with sector officials expecting a drop from last year's levels.

The cruise ship is also reeling from the virus. In 2019, 622 cruise ships docked at the port of Pireaus with 1,098,091 arrivals, representing an 18.2 percent increase in homeporting. For 2020, 729 cruise ships had been planned, nearly 100 more than last year. But 50 percent of bookings have been canceled, according to market sources, while connections with Italy, a country hit hard by the virus, is making the situation even more difficult.

Due to these conditions. tourism group SETE has called on its members to introduce more flexible cancellation policies. This is seen as a way of helping trim cancellations among travelers concerned about future travel plans. Among the measures put forth is introducing free cancellations at resorts up to seven days before arrival and 24 hours before arrival at accommodation in urban centers.

Concerns about how tourism will perform this year have also been raised by HSBC that pointed out in a report that the spread of the coronavirus could cause serious damage to the sector, one of Greece's major sources of growth.

It points out that, in recent years, tourism has been growing at almost double-digit rates, and a 10 percent drop in the tourism sector could weigh on economic growth by at least 1 percent. However, it added that the tourist season in Greece starts later than in other countries, such as Italy and Spain, meaning the impact on tourism could be limited.

*Antiopi Schoina