Thursday 12.12.2024 ΚΕΡΚΥΡΑ

Positive results for Corfu tourism in first two weeks of September

Corfu tourism
14 Sep 2021 / 14:36

CORFU. 848 international arrivals at Corfu Airport - 60-75% occupancy rates for hotels

Hoteliers and accommodation owners have expressed their satisfaction with bookings in the first two weeks of September, even though most of them were last-minute.

According to the President of the Civil Aviation employees' Union Dimitris Roussos, there were 848 international commercial flight arrivals at Corfu Airport in the first two weeks of September including 225 from UK, 172 from Germany, 72 from Italy and 68 from Poland.

"The results are as expected and are considered to be good considering the circumstances even though the numbers have dropped compared to August," Mr. Roussos told Enimerosi. "It should be noted that the number of flights from Russia increased in September due to the fact that there are now Aeroflot flights. In August there was a total of 19 flights from Russia, all Aegean, but in the first half of September there have been 16."

He added that most of the flights now are low-cost airlines, mainly Ryanair, which now has a base in Corfu. For example, there are 45 flights scheduled for tomorrow and 18 of them are Ryanair.

Hotel occupancy rates

Hoteliers are satisfied with business in September, even though it is less than they had in August. The lower hotel categories have occupancy rates of 60-70% and the 5-star hotels continue to have the good results they have been having since the beginning of the season - with occupancy rates of 75% and more according to the President of Corfu Hoteliers' Association Babis Voulgaris.

"We still have a good number of bookings for September - mainly last-minute," Mr. Voulgaris told Enimerosi. "At this time, most bookings are from the UK, followed by Poland, Germany and France. We are following developments week-by-week."

Rental accommodation

The situation is much the same with rental accommodation the President of Corfu Tourist Accommodation Owners Federation Pericles Katsaros told Enimerosi. "September is going well and we have a lot of customers from countries such as the Netherlands and UK, with mainly last-minute bookings - even two days before they travel. The bookings are up to the end of September and are satisfactory, even though they are fewer than those in the previous two months. There are also vouchers from the Tourism Ministry, which are being used this year and we are allowing people to use these next year as well."

Catering

The catering sector is also doing well, according to the President of Corfu Catering Union Sakis Kostas, as the island has benefitted from the good weather conditions. The fact that a lot of people are choosing low-cost companies to travel with rather than All-Inclusive has also been good for the catering business.

Cruises

Cruise ships coming to Corfu Port are another positive factor, with ships being up to 75% full, compared to 20% in June, when the cruise season started. According to the Managing Director of Corfu Port Authority Spyros Zervopoulos, there will be a total of 54 arrivals in the month of September, 27 of which have already happened.

There are 45 cruise ships scheduled to arrive in October, 9 in November and just the one in December. The total number for this season is 205.