The Hellenic Republic Hoteliers Federation (POX) has called on the Infrastructure & Transport Minister Christos Staikouras to facilitate road tourism.
Through a letter sent to Staikouras, POX has said that ensuring seamless arrival of road tourists is a matter of survival, “especially for businesses operating on the mainland in Northern Greece, where road tourists account for the vast majority of their customers”.
According to a report from Greek Travel Pages, the poor conditions at Greece’s border crossing points do not align with the reputation of the country, which is one of the leading tourism destinations in Europe.
Among the concerns of the Hellenic Hoteliers Federation were also the long queues, waiting hours during the peak summer season, and insufficient infrastructure, which are leading to inconveniences and bad impressions among international visitors interested in travelling to Greece for holiday purposes.
In addition, hoteliers mentioned that the matter has already been discussed with the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) board of directors, including the recommendations proposed related to the issue.
Among the key priorities include enhancing building facilities, hiring more staff, and planning ahead. Besides, POX also mentioned that the government promised to provide funds for improving infrastructure and also obtaining necessary supplies.
At the same time, the report from Greek Travel Pages also notes that POX requested a teleconference with stakeholders as well as decision-makers in order to find effective solutions that would be implemented ahead of the tourism season.
Northern Greece saw a notable 31.6 per cent increase in road arrivals in the 11 months leading up to November 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. In addition, the region registered 9.9 million tourists who arrived by road, up from 7.6 million registered in the corresponding months of the previous year.
The tourism sector contributes significantly to Greece’s economy. The figures from the Bank of Greece revealed that for a period from January until November last year, travel receipts reached €20.115 billion, marking an increase of 15.4 per cent compared to 2022 statistics and a 10 per cent increase compared to 2019 statistics.
This development was due to increased receipts from residents of the EU27 by 11 per cent to €10,997.2 million and in receipts from residents outside the EU27 by 18.4 per cent to €8,419.4 million.
As part of efforts to ease heavy tourist traffic, Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria recently discussed plans to open land borders between these three countries by summer.
