The Crete, the flagship of Greek tourism, with the “help” of climate change, as noted in APE-MPA the president of the Association of Hoteliers of Crete, Manolis Tsakalakis, stressed that what the announcements and policies on the expansion of the tourist season did not succeed, the changes in climatic conditions which favor the summer from the beginning of spring to the edge of winter.
It is characteristic that British Tour operators have already expressed their interest in transferring the airline seats of candidate tourists from the high season to the beginning and end of the high season, according to what Mr. Tsakalakis always says.
In practice, this means that in Rethymno 4 to 5 hotels – resorts, except those that operate in the city 12 months a year, will remain open until the end of November, with all that this implies for tourist flows to Crete. The picture is similar in Heraklion Prefecture, since, as Nikos Chalkiadakis, president of the association there, explains, some resorts will welcome people until the end of the year. This, he says, is because TUI and All Tours have announced that their flights will take travelers to Crete until the end of November.
“When this is consolidated, we will have a smooth flow of people and services to Crete. This when is a treasure for everyone,” Tsakalakis stresses meaningfully.
Regarding the development of tourist traffic on the island, Mr. Tsakalakis notes that this year there were more visitors to Crete, but the result for hotels and other businesses is that they should keep a “small basket”, he notes. As he explains, there is no chance that the businesses in question will achieve a better result than 2019, a record year for their revenues. Meanwhile, the president of the Association of hoteliers of Crete, points out that the only beneficiary will be the state and municipalities since more people came and more turnover was achieved, he explains.
However, according to the most recent data on international traffic at Crete’s airports, there was a significant increase in September. Specifically, Heraklion Airport recorded 3.4 million international arrivals, showing an increase of +6.1% / +194 thousand, and Chania Airport recorded 1.4 million international arrivals, showing an increase of +7.6% / +98 thousand.
