The three signs that tourism might take a hit in 2015

Postponements, cancellations, all due to politics

Direct, negative impact on three key points for tourism in 2015 are being forecast by tourist operators, due to the negative publicity the country has received in recent days. The problem does not lie so much in political developments which may bring about early elections, as in the very poor management on the part of all political parties.

The negative effects are immediate and are identified as:

1. The decline in the rate of 2015 bookings, which exceeds 50% during the last few days. Usually, during this period, 10-15% of bookings is made, while January and February is the most critical period, every year, since a very large percentage of tourist bookings is performed then.

2. The negative climate for conducting conferences in our country, with questions arising on the part of the organizers and decisions about planned conferences in Greece, postponed until later, if that.

3. The postponement of decisions of the airline industry in terms of adding new routes to and from Greece.

EU Finance Commissioner P. Moskovici has also rung a proverbial alarm bell on the investment level subject in the meetings he had with politicians during his recent visit to Greece.