Greek hotels have been gut-punched by the dramatic drop in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A new analysis from GBR Consulting reveals that Athens and Thessaloniki hotels lost 79% and 67% of their revenue compared to 2019 numbers.
According to the report, total revenue of city hotels located elsewhere declined by 63% y-o-y YTD Q3 2020, while resort hotels registered a staggering drop of 79% y-o-y during the same period. Both Q3 and yearly numbers are staggering.
Despite Greece’s success in controlling the first wave of covid-19 and the projected image as a safe destination, demand for rooms in Greece remained very low. During Q3 2020, international arrivals at Greece’s main airports stood at 3.9 million passengers, a decline of 64% from the 10.8 million during the same period in 2019. On average, July declined by 71%
y-o-y, August by 57% y-o-y and September by 64% y-o-y.
Worse still, the report uses IATA and Tourism Economics research to reveal that the international business segment, the hardest hit sector, will recover to 2019 levels only after 2024. And primary leisure destinations in Greece, such as Crete, the Dodecanese, the Ionian Islands and the Cyclades will suffer for longer because of their high dependency on foreign tourists.
All in all, the report offers a very grim outlook for the short and media term, where Greece hospitality is concerned. And with COVID-19 cases surging across Europe, there seems to be little hope for any sort of recovery by the Spring of 2021.
The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic will certainly lead to a huge shrinkage of Greek GDP in 2020. In Q2, economic activity fell
by a staggering 14.1% q/q.
See the full report here.