Road tourism is possible in our country to increase more however the data shows, not all regions are equally favored this year. Those who have every reason to smile are the professionals of Evros, because the arrival of the first Turks has increased the tourist traffic, while Pieria and Thessaloniki have felt the decline coming from the Romanian market.
According to the latest data from the Institute of the Association of Hellenic Tourism Enterprises (INSETE), in the first half of 2024, road tourism shows an increase of 13.7%, with international arrivals reaching 4 million , compared to 3.5 million in the corresponding period. .
However, in Pieria the decrease in tourist traffic, which depends approximately 75% on road tourism, reached 25% in July compared to last year, said the president of the Pieria Hoteliers’ Union and vice-president of POX spoke talking to APE-MPE, Iraklis Tsitlakidis.
“There is a noticeable decline from the Romanian market and I believe that the reasons are many. For us it is an important market and the first nationality to enter tourism because it is the first place followed by the Bulgarians, Serbian and German. It’s going well in August, but that’s not enough. I think there should be a serious improvement in the infrastructure of the border stations to strengthen the tourism”, said Mr. Tsitlakidis.
As far as road tourism is concerned, traffic in Thessaloniki is particularly low, according to Andreas Mandrino, president of the Thessaloniki Hotel Association.
“August is very bad in terms of road tourism and in general the tourist traffic in Thessaloniki has decreased. From July to August the decrease is expected to reach double digits and this is due to many factors. The war of The Middle East also affected us, because we lost the Israeli market, but especially in road tourism we also lost a large part of the Romanian market. On the one hand, because since April, Romanians can travel anywhere in Europe by air freely and on the other hand, because we have long periods of long heat waves that serve as a deterrent for anyone who wants to come with their car to Greece, especially with current state of land borders”. pointed out Mr. Mandrinos.
The Romanians for Thessaloniki are in the first 5 nationalities, like Israel, and while there is an increase from the Turks, it is not enough to cover the decrease from the two mentioned nationalities, according to the EXTH president.
“Thessaloniki is currently not at a good level. Just think that the average five-star price is estimated to be 250% lower than in Athens due to supply and demand.
The issue that affects the economy of the city will affect the winter and focus on other industries. The positive thing is that we expect a good September because of the International Exhibition”, added Mr. Mandrinos.
Thrace and Halkidiki are the winners of road tourism
From the beginning of the year until now, the tourist movement in Thrace shows a trend, with the Turks being the protagonists. “The Turks raised the bar, especially in the city break. Until the end of September we had a very good occupation not only of Alexandroupolis but also of Komotini and Xanthi, from the Bulgarians and Romanians. Now the people are -funnel also in these areas, because the occupancy rates in Alexandroupoli are high”, pointed out Apostolos Palakidis, president of Thrace Hoteliers. For the region, road tourism is the main source of income at a rate that exceeds 70%. Mr. Palakidis, however, stressed that the issue of upgrading the infrastructure at the borders of the Gardens as well as the northern entry gates is an issue that needs to be resolved immediately. If Alexandroupoli is known, however, in August occupancy rates of around 95% are recorded.
Although the season is reduced by 20 days in Halkidiki this year, it is expected to close at the same level as last year for hotels. “We had a strong five-day season in May because of Easter but the mass arrivals started on June 20. Last year we had a season of 100 days mainly for tourists on the road to Balkan and this year 80”, said Grigoris Tassios, president of the Halkidiki Hoteliers’ Union. “Of course, new nationalities are added such as tourists from Kosovo because there is no visa and Bosnians, while the Turks also increased a little, most of them in the first leg. In general the future which are tourists, about 50% from the road. In other words, we have about one million visitors and half of them travel by road. There are many people who choose the hotels, but also many go to rent and short-term rentals, and especially this year there are events of unfair competition”, added Mr. Tassios.
One of the main issues raised by the EXX president is the need to upgrade the infrastructure of the land borders and the creation of a Tourism Observatory to properly measure arrivals from the borders of land, because as he emphasized that there is no count of nationality. .
It should be seen that in Halkidiki road tourism tourists from mainly from Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia.
“In general, Halkidiki in hotels has numbers in 2023 and the season is expected to close in mid-October, with the western market leading in mid-September,” added Mr. Tassios.
Romanians, Serbs and Bulgarians are the protagonists of road tourism
The most searched destinations for Romanians in terms of road tourism are Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. Although road tourism shows a trend there is a slight increase in road tourism compared to last year, due to the repair work of the Friendship Bridge connecting Romania and Bulgaria and due to long waiting times, it is estimated that the flow of tourists choosing Bulgaria, Greece and Bulgaria may have negatively affected Turkey as a vacation destination, according to Giorgos Kakutis, Head of the Foreign Service of Serbia, with the duties of the Foreign Service. Romania.
The main destinations for Romanians visiting Greece by road are Thassos, Halkidiki, Pieria, Kavala, Lefkada, Samothraki and Evia. In recent years, Lefkada has shown a strong dynamic due to the ease of access by road (but there are also direct flights to Aktion).
As far as Bulgaria is concerned, according to Mr. Kakutis, the main tourist route (road tourism) from Bulgaria continues to grow. aka a trend, with the dominant destinations being Halkidiki and the coastal front of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (Kavala-Nea Peramos , Ofrynio, Keramoti, etc.). The large number of independent tourists (Individuals) in the percentage of more than 96% are tourists on the road, due to the ease​​​​​​ of entering our country.
At the same time, as Mr. Kakutis pointed out, the easy road access from Serbia to Greece is a key determining factor for the development of road tourism from Serbia. The passage of Serbian visitors through the entry gates of Greece is very high. According to the Association of Tourist Agents of Serbia (YUTA), the summer season is very good, without any major problems. Greece is the most sought after and one of the first destinations for tourists in Serbia this year as well. According to the estimates of the same authority, slightly more than one million Serbian visitors are expected in Greece. The main destinations chosen by Serbians over the years are Halkidiki, Pieria, Ionian Islands, Thassos, Skiathos, Corfu, Evia, and others.