Bookings give cause for optimism for new tourist season in Corfu
bookings
04 Feb 2022
/ 22:21
CORFU. Bookings in rented accommodation at 40-60%. 8 out of 10 hotel bookings are from the UK.
Professionals of the tourism sector express cautious optimism for the new tourist season, which is expected to be extremely good, while bookings in hotels and accommodation establishments have already started for the summer of 2022 and the numbers are satisfactory.
In fact, experienced professionals of the sector told Enimerosi that, since there are less cases of the Omicron variant in most countries and as long as there will not be a new Covid variant, the situation will improve.
According to the President of Corfu Hoteliers' Association Babis Voulgaris, since the off-season (November – mid-January) ended, hotel bookings have started. The British market is starting dynamically, as 8 out of 10 bookings are from the UK. “The lifting of travel restrictions announced by Boris Johnson has created a lot of optimism. We are talking to tourism professionals and we are cautiously optimistic about this season,” he said. He added that there are also many bookings from Germany, France, and Poland.
As he told Enimerosi, the big hotels in Corfu are expected to open around mid-April and the rest will also open gradually, while Easter is expected to play a crucial role, provided that there will be no new spike in the pandemic.
Rentals at 40%-60%
In the meantime, bookings in rented accommodation are satisfactory and, until now, there are no cancellations. According to the President of Corfu Tourist Accommodation Owners Federation Pericles Katsaros, the rates are at 40%-60%, while, unlike hotels, bookings had started long before Christmas, in November-December. “Based on the current data, we are hopeful that this will be a very good year and the season will go well. People are getting vaccinated, they are being careful and want to keep travelling,” he explained. As he said, the greatest interest is shown from England, and then France, the Netherlands, Germany and Romania.
However, according to Mr. Katsaros, there will also be last-minute bookings this year, depending, however, on the availability of accommodation establishments and airlines.
The official start
The new tourist season in Corfu is expected to officially start on March 27, according to the international and domestic flights of airlines for 2022, which will start two months earlier than last year. According to the Civil Aviation Authority Employees Union President Dimitris Roussos, the season usually starts with the low-cost airlines, with dozens of flights from the very first week, while gradually the routes of all airlines will start increasing, reaching their peak in July-August. TUI, the number one travel company, is expected to start dynamically in May.
In fact, experienced professionals of the sector told Enimerosi that, since there are less cases of the Omicron variant in most countries and as long as there will not be a new Covid variant, the situation will improve.
According to the President of Corfu Hoteliers' Association Babis Voulgaris, since the off-season (November – mid-January) ended, hotel bookings have started. The British market is starting dynamically, as 8 out of 10 bookings are from the UK. “The lifting of travel restrictions announced by Boris Johnson has created a lot of optimism. We are talking to tourism professionals and we are cautiously optimistic about this season,” he said. He added that there are also many bookings from Germany, France, and Poland.
As he told Enimerosi, the big hotels in Corfu are expected to open around mid-April and the rest will also open gradually, while Easter is expected to play a crucial role, provided that there will be no new spike in the pandemic.
Rentals at 40%-60%
In the meantime, bookings in rented accommodation are satisfactory and, until now, there are no cancellations. According to the President of Corfu Tourist Accommodation Owners Federation Pericles Katsaros, the rates are at 40%-60%, while, unlike hotels, bookings had started long before Christmas, in November-December. “Based on the current data, we are hopeful that this will be a very good year and the season will go well. People are getting vaccinated, they are being careful and want to keep travelling,” he explained. As he said, the greatest interest is shown from England, and then France, the Netherlands, Germany and Romania.
However, according to Mr. Katsaros, there will also be last-minute bookings this year, depending, however, on the availability of accommodation establishments and airlines.
The official start
The new tourist season in Corfu is expected to officially start on March 27, according to the international and domestic flights of airlines for 2022, which will start two months earlier than last year. According to the Civil Aviation Authority Employees Union President Dimitris Roussos, the season usually starts with the low-cost airlines, with dozens of flights from the very first week, while gradually the routes of all airlines will start increasing, reaching their peak in July-August. TUI, the number one travel company, is expected to start dynamically in May.
