“The poms who are usually buying five beers in a night, this year they’re buying two” Nick Geronimos

The number of tourists entering Greece between January and May 2012 fell by 11 per cent against the same period in 2011, according to a recent report from the Bank of Greece.
Intense media speculation over Greece exiting the euro coupled with gloomy travel advisorys from governments warning their citizens to think twice before holidaying to the Hellenic Republic, fuelled the inevitable downturn.
Following the June 17 general election, almost overnight, operators saw bookings pick up. But since, bookings compared to last year remain below average, and reduced revenues are being felt by tourism operators across the board, reflecting the tight purse-strings of those who are visiting.
According to Rhodes Airport, between January and May the number of holidaymakers arriving in Rhodes by charter flights declined by 53,000 in comparison to the same period in 2011.
Rosalyn Geronikolas from WA, who owns four hotels on Rhodes and Kastelorizo told Neos Kosmos that it had been a late start to the season.
“After the election we had an increase in reservations, but not to last year’s levels. We’re 10 to 12 per cent down on revenue so far this year,” says Geronikolas, who has also noticed a change in tourists’ behaviour.
“What we’ve been seeing are a lot of last-minute bookings and people booking a shorter stay. What would have been normally a one week booking is now down to three or four days maximum.”
Perth-born Nick Geronimos, founder of Athens Backpackers and Studios, the capital’s most famous Australian-owned and run hostel, says that the “fear campaign” run by the world’s media along with foreign governments’ warnings took a huge toll.
“It was all just a beat up, but it pretty much destroyed the tourism industry,” says Geronimos, who in late 2011 laid off 15 part-time members of staff because of the downturn in trade.
“Before June 18, we were 40 per cent down compared to the same time last year. The day after the election, bookings went back to almost normal levels, but we’re still down.”
With bookings coming in just two weeks in advance, businesses like Athens Backpackers are still feeling the pinch.
“The tourists that are coming don’t have as much money to spend, apart from the Aussies, because of the strength of the Australian dollar. The poms who are usually buying five beers in a night, this year they’re buying two,” says Geronimos, who admits that the changing trends in the market haven’t all been disadvantagous.
“We’ve been able to pick up customers who previously would have stayed in five-star hotels, but who this year aren’t prepared to pay the hundreds of euros those rooms cost.”
With a top price of 90 euros a night for a well-appointed studio, Athens Backpackers’ competitive edge means it’s running at 96 per cent capacity in August.
“Hopefully that will continue until the start of November,” says Geronimos, “unless there’s action on the streets and the media start getting toey again.”
Recently Greek Minister for Tourism Olga Kefalogianni told the world’s media that while Greece had suffered from “perception problems” during the political turmoil of May and June, the country was now “back to business”.
Kefalogianni said that Greece was examining airport fees and looking at reducing value-added tax for the tourism sector to make the industry more competitive.