On the sacred rock of the Acropolis, an emblematic monument of Athens, the cohorts of tourists have been parading without interruption since June. After two years of calm due to the Covid-19 pandemic, foreign visitors are back in force in the Greek capital. More than 16,000 people per day roam the ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. An absolute record.
This summer, attendance could exceed the 33 million tourists who landed in Greece – more than three times the country’s population – in 2019. According to the Greek tourism ministry, 5.12 million passengers arrived in July in the country’s fourteen regional airports, against 4.49 million in 2019. Tourism receipts should also amount to 20 billion euros this year, against 18.2 billion in 2019, according to the Bank of Greece.
“After two difficult years, the return of American tourists [500 000 d’entre eux sont venus passer leurs vacances estivales en Grèce, selon le ministère du tourisme], who have a strong purchasing power, is a godsend”, explains Stefania Flega, general manager of the YES group! Hotels, which has several establishments in Athens and one on the island of Santorini. For the French, Serbs and Israelis, Greece is the number one destination this summer.
“On some islands, demand has exceeded supply”
In an attempt to compensate for two lean years and cope with rising energy prices, overnight rates have been revised upwards by around 20%, according to the Greek statistics authority. “In Athens, hotel prices have not increased excessively, but, on some islands, demand has exceeded supply, and they have soared compared to 2021”emphasizes Stefania Flega.
So much so that some places popular with foreigners, especially in the Cyclades archipelago, have become inaccessible to Greeks. According to the center-right daily I Kathimerini, the cost of a week-long stay for a family with two children on an island more than seven hours by boat from the port of Piraeus has risen by 65% compared to 2017. The “editors’ journal” (Efsynleft) also finds that in a country where the minimum wage is only 713 euros gross per month, almost one in two employees cannot go on vacation to the Aegean islands.
“For the Greek middle class, these rates are dissuasive! », Corinne Harcourt, Iles Cyclades Travel agency
Yannis Syrianos, a taxi driver in the Athens region, chose to fly with his wife and daughter to Crete and “no to Santorini, Mykonos or Paros”. “I chose a destination where fares are still affordable, and I reduced the time spent there. I only left for five days, whereas before I took at least a week”says the forties.
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