Tourist charter arrivals to Greece in the first half of 2005 rose by 4.8% to 3,662,972…
Tourist charter arrivals to Greece in the first half of 2005 rose by 4.8% to 3,662,972, the Instititue of Tourism Research and Forecasts (ITEP) said on Thursday.
This is a relatively mild upturn, despite unprecedented publicity and advertisement of the country. The current upturn is lower than anticipated on the basis of efforts made by the government, and on the basis of external factors, ITEP said in a market report.
Taking the lion`s share of arrivals was Athens at 2,139,757, showing a 12.0% increase in comparison with the same period of 2004.
Ranking second was the northern port city of Thessaloniki with 448,430 arrivals, up 1.1%; and third, Hania on the island of Crete with 194,163 arrivals, up 4.5%.
The sharpest decline was posted by the eastern Aegean island of Chios, down 13% at 5,302 arrivals; followed by the Ionian island of Zakynthos at 144,722, showing a 10.8% decline, the report said.
The trends do not allow for greater optimism than expressed in our last two reports. It will be difficult to attain a rate of growth above 5%-7% is there is no full reversal of regional trends, ITEP added.
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