Johnson΄s decision another blow to Corfu tourism
tourism
15 Jun 2021
/ 15:26
CORFU. July will be a difficult month with regard to British tourism.
The decision of the British PM Boris Johnson to extend the country's lockdown to 19 July due to the increase in the number of Delta variant cases and extending limitations on travel is another blow to Corfu tourism
Tourist professionals are saying that this tourist season is even more difficult than last year's as they had been expecting Greece to be removed from the amber list allowing the British market, which accounts for 55 - 60% of Corfu visitors, to open up.
They say that this is basically putting back the start of the tourist season and adding to concerns about how things will go this summer. It seems that July will now also be a 'lost' month.
"If we don't have British tourists, things are going to be difficult," says the President of Corfu Hoteliers' Association Babis Voulgaris. "Most of the hotels may have opened as it is only possible to renew employees' contracts until the end of June, but the situation is problematic, especially for the big hotels, which work mainly with the British market. We are, of course, waiting for the list of safe travel destinations to be reviewed but, due to the lockdown, we don't believe that it will be opened up."
He said that the few bookings that have been made are mainly from other markets such as France, Germany, Poland, Belgium and Israel. However, these cannot fill the gap left by the British market.
According to the President of the Corfu Federation of Tourist Accommodation Owners Pericles Katsaros, although there are bookings for rented accommodation, the number is low for the time of year. "Things are already critical not only for hotels and rented accommodation, but also for retailers and catering establishments," he said. "The two months that have already been lost are likely to become three, with all that implies for the local economy, as we won't have the majot British market." He added that the government must support businesses not just with announcements but with practical decisions.
TUI cancellations in Zakynthos and Cephalonia
On top of this news, TUI has cancelled some of its tourist packages in some popular Greek destinations, including Zakynthos (until 28 June) and Cephalonia (until 4 July). Although Corfu isn't included in the cancellations by the major tour operator, it nevertheless adds to the feeling of insecurity.
"We have cancellations from the UK in the upcoming weeks and the mood could not be worse as we already have problems with the Russian market, " says the President of the Association of Corfu Travel Agents (AOCTA) Spyros Halikiopoulos. "We don't know how this will be covered. TUI is coming to Corfu with very few tourists - it has 4 flights with 30 passengers in each." He added that it will be very difficult to have the same level of income this year as we did last year.
Mitsotakis speaks with Johnson
The Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson while attending the NATO Summit in Brussels. During their meeting, Mitsotakis informed Johnson of Greece’s positive epidemiological course, which should allow for the lifting of travel restrictions imposed on British tourists visiting Greece. The Greek PM also requested for the UK to not discriminate between different European countries.
Letter from the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE)
SETE has taken the initiative to continue the SynErgasia programme in hotels that are open all-year round as well as covering employers' contributions for all tourist enterprises. In a letter to Finance Minister Christos Staikouras and Employment Minister Kostis Hadjidakis it points out that it is now mid-June and due to the Covid-19 restrictions the tourist season has only begun 'officially' but not in reality as our main markets UK, Russia and Scandinavia have not yet opened up.
"We have a limited number of bookings and it is still not known if these will translate into actual arrivals as we still don't know the intentions of the aforementioned markets and neither do we know their timelines and the conditions with which they will operate. In any case, at our meetings I have stressed again and again that there will be a significant delay in the restart of tourism as 90% of tourism revenue in 2019 was from abroad."
Tourist professionals are saying that this tourist season is even more difficult than last year's as they had been expecting Greece to be removed from the amber list allowing the British market, which accounts for 55 - 60% of Corfu visitors, to open up.
They say that this is basically putting back the start of the tourist season and adding to concerns about how things will go this summer. It seems that July will now also be a 'lost' month.
"If we don't have British tourists, things are going to be difficult," says the President of Corfu Hoteliers' Association Babis Voulgaris. "Most of the hotels may have opened as it is only possible to renew employees' contracts until the end of June, but the situation is problematic, especially for the big hotels, which work mainly with the British market. We are, of course, waiting for the list of safe travel destinations to be reviewed but, due to the lockdown, we don't believe that it will be opened up."
He said that the few bookings that have been made are mainly from other markets such as France, Germany, Poland, Belgium and Israel. However, these cannot fill the gap left by the British market.
According to the President of the Corfu Federation of Tourist Accommodation Owners Pericles Katsaros, although there are bookings for rented accommodation, the number is low for the time of year. "Things are already critical not only for hotels and rented accommodation, but also for retailers and catering establishments," he said. "The two months that have already been lost are likely to become three, with all that implies for the local economy, as we won't have the majot British market." He added that the government must support businesses not just with announcements but with practical decisions.
TUI cancellations in Zakynthos and Cephalonia
On top of this news, TUI has cancelled some of its tourist packages in some popular Greek destinations, including Zakynthos (until 28 June) and Cephalonia (until 4 July). Although Corfu isn't included in the cancellations by the major tour operator, it nevertheless adds to the feeling of insecurity.
"We have cancellations from the UK in the upcoming weeks and the mood could not be worse as we already have problems with the Russian market, " says the President of the Association of Corfu Travel Agents (AOCTA) Spyros Halikiopoulos. "We don't know how this will be covered. TUI is coming to Corfu with very few tourists - it has 4 flights with 30 passengers in each." He added that it will be very difficult to have the same level of income this year as we did last year.
Mitsotakis speaks with Johnson
The Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson while attending the NATO Summit in Brussels. During their meeting, Mitsotakis informed Johnson of Greece’s positive epidemiological course, which should allow for the lifting of travel restrictions imposed on British tourists visiting Greece. The Greek PM also requested for the UK to not discriminate between different European countries.
Letter from the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE)
SETE has taken the initiative to continue the SynErgasia programme in hotels that are open all-year round as well as covering employers' contributions for all tourist enterprises. In a letter to Finance Minister Christos Staikouras and Employment Minister Kostis Hadjidakis it points out that it is now mid-June and due to the Covid-19 restrictions the tourist season has only begun 'officially' but not in reality as our main markets UK, Russia and Scandinavia have not yet opened up.
"We have a limited number of bookings and it is still not known if these will translate into actual arrivals as we still don't know the intentions of the aforementioned markets and neither do we know their timelines and the conditions with which they will operate. In any case, at our meetings I have stressed again and again that there will be a significant delay in the restart of tourism as 90% of tourism revenue in 2019 was from abroad."
