Fully booked ships departing from the port of Piraeus and Rafina in view of the three-day Holy Spirit. According to the Coast Guard, 25 ships will leave the port of Piraeus today alone, full to the brim, bound for an island.
Due to the increased mobility, the roads around the port have become blocked.
The top destinations for the 3 days of the Holy Spirit:
Greek islands but also alternative European destinations or destinations that favour short road trips in the surrounding areas, such as Marseille, Majorca, Bordeaux, and Istanbul are among the preferences of travellers for the three-day Holy Spirit weekend.
According to the data recorded on AEGEAN flights, there is an increase in passenger traffic over the Holy Spirit weekend.
Greek destinations and the Greek islands, but also ‘outsiders’ destinations either in Greece or abroad, play a leading role in the preferences.
The top 5 domestic destinations from the Athens base are: Skiathos, Kythera, Ikaria, Milos and Mytilene while from the base in Thessaloniki are: Santorini, Lemnos, Kos, Mykonos and Paros.
The top 5 international destinations from Athens are Marseille, Istanbul, Malta, Venice, Majorca, while from the base of Thessaloniki Rome, Berlin, Munich, Barcelona, Frankfurt.
However, in terms of travelers’ preferences, the Cyclades continue to be a favorite destination of Greeks, especially the younger age groups. Also, destinations such as Heraklion, Chania and Rhodes always remain at a high level, but tend to show last minute bookings.
In fact, for today, Friday 21 June, the average occupancy rate reaches 95% from the Athens and Thessaloniki base for domestic destinations.
For international destinations from the Athens base, there is an increasing tendency to travel to alternative European destinations or destinations that favour short road trips in the surrounding areas, such as Marseille, Mallorca, Bordeaux and Istanbul, while Thessalonikians seem to choose more popular destinations such as Rome, Berlin, Barcelona, etc.
Based on AEGEAN’s data, the development of return traffic starts mainly on the day of the Holy Spirit, 24 June , but peaks a day later on 25 June in both bases, Athens and Thessaloniki, with equally high occupancy rates. The international destinations present a similar picture, with the difference that passengers departing from Thessaloniki seem to return on the day of the Holy Spirit, while many passengers returning to the Athens base tend to extend their stay in the destination of their choice by one more day.
It should be noted that despite the high occupancy rates and the few tickets still available, it is never too late for “last minute deals” to various destinations, such as Heraklion and Ioannina in Greece or Warsaw, Sofia, Paris, Bucharest and Dubai for a foreign destination.
