Friday , March 29 2024

The first flight with Polish and Austrians on 14 May G. Filippopolitis, Chr. Xenos and N. Glavas analyze the data

G. Filippopolitis: “Many customers, even vaccinated, are afraid to travel. We will not have the flights we expected to have “

This season will be difficult for entrepreneurs and tourism workers, due to the pandemic. According to the data so far, arrivals will be at last year’s levels and the industry will take its first steps again with uncertainty in mid-May. With several limitations.

Travel agents and hoteliers explain that this year will not be much different from last year and analyze the problems they encountered…

Officially, this season will start on May 14th when citizens from other foreign countries will be allowed to enter, provided have been vaccinated or have immunity, or have a negative COVID test.

On our island, the first flight will arrive on the same date as Polish and Austrians.

 

The travel agent, Giannis Filippopolitis, gave an idea of ​​the flights that big companies are going to make this year on our island. Noting that Jet 2 will not start before June 24, while the decisions for TUI and Easyjet”are still in the air”.

He added that according to the data, in mid-May the first Polish, Austrians and Dutch will visit our island and the Scandinavians will follow in June.

“The bottom line is that this year, while we had hoped that it would be twice as high as last year, I am very afraid that we will not reach these numbers. Based on the picture for a month.

Unfortunately, cases are on the rise in Europe and mutations are on the rise. This makes people postpone their vacations. This is confirmed by many hoteliers.

Many customers, even vaccinated, are afraid to travel this year. “We will not have the flights we expected to have”, Mr. Filippopolitis pointed out.

He also added that our island will be waiting for last minute bookings. “Arrivals will not go well. Many say it will be one of the same as last year. We hope that we will not have the phenomenon of September, when we were emptied. The aim is to protect our island,

 

On the same wavelength are the statements of the president of the Hoteliers Association of  Arkadion, Nikos Glava, who stressed: 

Unfortunately, the expectation for a better fate compared to last year does not seem to be realized and in the current situation we expect a season like last year. 

That is, with a four-month duration of operation under normal conditions, which has a dim chance of expansion if we manage to stay in the green (health picture).

 Even when we start it will take 1-2 weeks. We will not have the first day full planes. A market that is locked for a year, “will not move forward” automatically.

So, given that we are going for the beginning to mid-June, in the flights we expect a good intensity of operation of the tourism industry at the beginning of July “.

.

For his part, the owner of “XENOS HOTELS & RESORTS”, Christos Xenos, said:

“Arrivals this year will be at best 40-50% of 2019  but receipts will be at 40%, because there will be offers and discounts.

All markets will move. The percentage will go to 40-50% of 2019 and if we follow the measures with self tests, rapid tests and molecular tests and do not close, we will have a relatively better summer compared to last year.

On May 14 we have been notified to open one of our 13 hotels, for Polish and Austrians. We are waiting for the decisions of the British government, which we hope will be favourable and open from the beginning of June. Many reports have been made and none are credible. “Let’s wait for the latest instructions that will depend on whether Greece and its various regions are ‘green’.”

The quarantine hotels
The Ministry of Tourism has finalized the list of the first seven hotels that will be leased in Crete, Mykonos, Santorini, Corfu, Kos and Rhodes exclusively for the temporary stay of natural persons in the context of dealing with the risk of transmission of the coronavirus for the tourist season 2021.

A total of 421 rooms were booked in the 7 , 4-star or key hotels or accommodations. In particular, 95 rooms were committed in Heraklion, Crete, 84 rooms in Corfu, 80 rooms in Kos, 70 rooms in Rhodes, 55 rooms in Mykonos and 37 rooms in Santorini. The next period will be followed by a contract between the Ministry and the contractors, with an analysis of the terms and conditions of the lease.

The epidemiological picture, the vaccines and the experience

The debate that has opened around the issue of the “green passport is great.

Mr. Filippopolitis spoke on the issue of vaccination, noting that.

“Our only defense is vaccination and we have to realize that it is our duty to be vaccinated and we have no other way. From what we learn, more vaccines are coming and I hope that most Greeks will be vaccinated, especially those who deal with tourism. “At least the majority should have been vaccinated by the end of May, in order to protect ourselves and our visitors.”

Mr. Xenos added that everyone should be more careful and hygiene measures should be observed. He stressed that those who arrive at the airport should be screened, whether they have been vaccinated, recovered from the virus or have already had a test. He also noted that:

“The vaccination certificate must go with supplements, because there are few vaccinated people in Europe. We must accept both the vaccinated and those who recovered from the virus, but also to perform rapid tests at airports and, above all, to perform rapid tests on individual customers who go to villas, rented rooms, ie in uncontrolled areas. “Other customers should be tested quickly upon arrival at the hotel.”

This year the entrepreneurs are starting already having enough knowledge on how to handle various difficult situations. Mr. Glavas pointed out: “We consider the” green passport “to be positive. The initiative is excellent because it proved last year that sampling is not capable in this form. We note that when we know that our visitors are either vaccinated or tested negative, there is the possibility to plan even more actions in the tourism industry. The bet is at this point, as our visitors will be tested or vaccinated, to achieve the same degree of vaccination and control of employees.

The support of the state is necessary

Shortly before the start of the new difficult year, the businessmen of our island note that the support of the state and the taking of financial relief measures are necessary again.

“This year the tourism industry will start with zero advances and that is why it is extremely important to be supported by the state either by continuing and specializing measures such as the Repayable Advances, or by accelerating the announcements of new development programs and NSRF, so that money can come from European resources that will support the operation of the tourism industry “ stressed Mr. Glavas.

Mr. Filippopolitis noted that the protocols that were in force last year should be changed at the same time. More specifically, he said: “We have asked for the fullness of the buses to go from 65% to 100%. Such restrictions do not exist in hotels and airplanes. There should also be financial measures either by keeping the reduced VAT or by continuing the COOPERATION “.

Mr. Xenos added: “The law should be imposed regarding the hygiene and safety measures. Do not extend the hours after midnight. To operate all stores keeping distances and not with standing customers. The shops must be supported and the government is doing it and we thank it very much “.

Easter

Entrepreneurs expected that conditions would be better at Easter and that there would be some revenue from domestic tourism. 

“Unfortunately, the hope for limited operation at Easter seems to be lost as well, because the overall health picture of Greece is not good, in order to allow transportation and domestic tourism. We did not expect to be working from overeases guess at Easter. We expected a partial opening of the market to domestic tourism. “Unfortunately, both the health image of the urban centers that are” in the red “and some islands, including Zakynthos, are not in sufficient data to allow internal movements”, commented Mr. Glavas.

 

Source IMERA

 

About Liz Osborn

Liz Osborn's first experience of the island was as a holiday rep in 1992. She fell in love with everything Zakynthian and has been here since then. Liz became a Greek citizen in 2003 and has been active in tourism and the Greek life over the years. Liz's support of the island saw her joining the Zakynthos Informer team in 2020

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