All tourism industry stakeholders agree that 2017 was a good year for the sector, with a higher number of visitors coming to the country, resulting in a rise in hotel revenue. However, fewer tourists have said that they were satisfied with the experience.

This alarming trend was reported by GBR Consulting and presented at the Annual General Meeting of the Hotel Association of Athens.

The report states that between January and September 2017, the total hotel revenues returned to 2008 levels. However, while capacity has reached record levels for Athenian hotels, the average room cost has not managed to return to what it was pre-crisis.

Furthermore the satisfaction rate of foreign tourists has fallen from 8 out of 10 in 2015 to 7.7 out of 10. While in 2015 95 percent of foreign visitors said they would recommend others visit Athens, this figure dropped to 91 percent in 2017.

This is reportedly due to problems such as noise pollution, poor maintenance of roads and pavements, inadequate maintenance of buildings and the lack of signposts, which negatively impact tourists’ experiences in Athens.