Performance of Greek Tourism and developments in the basic

Transcription

HOTELS
Performance of Greek Tourism
and developments in the basic figures
of the Greek Hotel Market
2011 - 2012
HOTELS
24 Stadiou str, 105 64 Athens
Τ. +30 213 2169900 • F. +30 210 3225 449 • www.grhotels.gr • [email protected]
2013
2011
CONTRIBUTORS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Dr Kyriakos Emm. Rerres, Scientific Director of ITEP.
Dr Agni Christidou, Director Hellenic Chamber of Hotels
Dr Antonis Spinakis, General Manager QUANTOS S.A.
Sophia Panousi, Researcher.
Dionysia-Chrysavgi Aggelopoulou, Research Assistant.
EDITING
Dr Gerassimos Zacharatos
Emeritus Professor of Tourism and Economic Management,
University of Patras
General Director of ITEP
RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR TOURISM (ITEP)
24, Stadiou Street
105 64 Athens
Tel. 213 2169967, 213 2169968
Fax. 210 3312033
Email: [email protected]
http://www.itep.gr
Contents
Recent developments in the global tourism market. ........................................................5
Review of 2012. ................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Prospects for 2013. ............................................................................................................................................................ 8
Developments in competitor countries. ................................................................................................................... 8
Overview of Greek tourism ...................................................................................................... 10
The evolution of Greek tourism figures during 2012...................................................................................... 10
Purpose of visit to Greece............................................................................................................................................. 10
Foreign arrivals by country of origin ..................................................................................................................... 12
Travel expenditure and average length of stay. ............................................................................................... 14
Tourism seasonality in Greece. ................................................................................................................................. 16
Overnight stays of tourists in Greece...................................................................................................................... 17
Expenditure per visit and day of stay in Greece ................................................................................................ 20
Competitiveness of Greek tourism ........................................................................................................................... 22
Developments in the institutional environment of Greek tourism ........................................................... 24
Νational collective agreement for payment terms of the employed in hotel enterprises all
over the country. .............................................................................................................................................................. 27
Annual survey of ITEP for the hotel market. ..................................................................... 28
Identification of research. ........................................................................................................................................... 28
Changes of hotel capacity. ........................................................................................................................................... 28
Risk of disinvestment in Greek tourism. ................................................................................................................ 31
Greek hotels' revenues in 2011. ................................................................................................................................ 35
Greek hotel occupancy rates in 2012. .................................................................................................................... 37
Prices of the Greek hotel product. ............................................................................................................................ 41
Performance of hotels hosting mostly foreign clients .................................................................................... 46
Employment ....................................................................................................................................................................... 47
Employment in Greek hotels. ..................................................................................................................................... 50
Employment rate of women and foreign workers in Greek hotels. .......................................................... 52
Average employment per hotel unit ....................................................................................................................... 57
Summary. ............................................................................................................................................................................ 60
4
Recent developments in the global tourism market.
Review of 2012.
It is generally accepted today that tourism is a key factor for the economic development of a
country. A strong tourism sector directly contributes to the national income of the country,
combats unemployment and improves the balance of payments, while it is also substantial
the indirect contribution to the economy through its multiplier effects. At the same time,
tourism is perceived as the connecting link between the different countries, by contributing
to the development of transnational exchanges, trade promotion and to the strengthening
of world peace. Finally, the development of hard and soft infrastructure improves the overall
competitiveness of countries.
According to the World Tourism Organization data, in 2012 total cross-border movements
for the first time surpassed the threshold of 1 billion arrivals, growing by 3.8% compared to
2011. The recovery of world tourism has been spectacular and beyond all expectations
during the fourth quarter of 2012. On a monthly basis, the best performance in 2012
occurred in March (6%) and the lowest in July (1%). Despite the current economic instability,
the increase is expected to continue in 2013 with a slightly lower rate (3-4%).
Table 1
International Tourist Arrivals by Region
2000
2005
REGIONS
2010
2011
2012
2011
10/09
(Share
%)
(millions)
11/10
12/11
(% change)
WORLD
678
805
952
996
1.035
100
6,5
4,7
3,8
Developed Economies
422
461
507
531
550
53,1
5,2
4,6
3,6
Emerging Economies
256
344
445
466
485
46,9
8,0
4,8
4,1
Europe
389,4
447,0
487,6
517,5
534,8
51,7
3,0
6,1
3,3
EU-27
328,1
358,1
372,0
390,9
400,1
38,7
2,6
5,1
2,3
North Europe
47,8
62,4
63,8
64,8
65,1
6,3
1,8
1,6
0,4
West Europe
139,7
141,7
154,3
161,0
165,8
16,0
3,9
4,3
3,0
Central & East Europe
69,3
90,4
95,9
105,3
113,7
11,0
3,4
9,8
8,0
South & Med. Europe
132,6
152,5
173,5
186,4
190,2
18,4
2,4
7,4
2,0
110,1
153,6
205,1
218,1
232,9
22,5
13,2
6,4
6,8
Oceania
9,6
11,0
11,6
11,7
12,1
1,2
6,1
0,9
4,0
South Asia
6,1
8,1
12,0
13,4
14,0
1,4
19,5
12,0
4,4
128,2
133,3
150,3
156,3
162,1
15,7
6,4
4,0
3,7
North America
91,5
89,9
99,3
102,1
105,6
10,2
6,7
2,8
3,4
Caribbean
17,1
18,8
19,5
20,1
20,9
2,0
1,6
3,0
4,0
Africa
26,2
34,8
49,8
49,2
52,3
5,1
8,5
-1,1
6,3
Middle East
24,1
36,3
59,2
55,3
52,6
5,1
13,5
-6,7
-4,9
Asia & Pacific
America
Source: UNWTO, Tourism Barometer Vol. 11, January 2013.
4
5
At regional level, all regions of the world recorded an increase in international arrivals, with
the exception of the Middle East. The areas with the best performance were Asia-Pacific and
Africa (6.8% and 6.3% respectively), followed by the Americas (3.7%) and Europe (3.3%). The
arrivals in the Middle East fell by 5%, due to political tensions that still plague many
countries in the region.
In Southern Europe there is an increase in arrivals by 2%, while in Greece arrivals fell by 6%
compared to 2011.
Chart1
International Tourist Arrivals 2012/2011
(%change)
8,0%
6,8%
6,0%
4,0%
3,8%
3,3%
2,0%
2,0%
0,0%
-2,0%
World
Greece
Medit.
Europe
Europe
Asia-Pacific Middle East
-4,0%
-6,0%
-5,5%
-4,9%
-8,0%
Source: UNWTO, Tourism Barometer Vol.11, January 2013.
Tourism receipts exceeded the psychological barrier of one trillion U.S. dollars in 2011,
growing by 12.3% in comparison with 2010. 83% of all destinations reporting relative data
have managed to increase their tourism receipts. Best performance was achieved by the
countries of South-East Asia with an average increase of 21.6%.
In European destinations the increase in tourism receipts ranged at higher levels than the
average (13.5%), while in Greece the increase was more limited and amounted to 9.3%.
It is worth noting that the positive progress of international tourist arrivals and receipts
confirms the resilience of tourism activity in periods of prolonged economic uncertainty.
With regard to tourism expenditure, China was once again by far the faster growing spender
for trips abroad with annual growth of 42% compared to 2011, followed by Russia which
increased its expenditure by 31%. In monetary terms, the U.S. market expanded by 7%, the
UK by 5% and Germany by 3%. Instead, the markets of the countries of Southern Europe
applying austerity programs shrank, in order to improve their fiscal imbalances. In France,
travel expenditure fell by 7%, in Italy by 2%, in Spain by 4% and in Greece by 18.5%.
6
5
Table 2
Tourism Receipts by Region
2000
2005
475
679
854
928
1.042
231,6
349,4
411,5
409,5
464,6
-0,5
13,5
North Europe
36,1
53,6
58,6
61,7
69,8
5,3
13,1
West Europe
83,7
123,2
144,2
142,4
161,6
-1,2
13,5
Central & East Europe
20,3
32,8
47,4
48,1
56,3
1,5
17,0
South & Med. Europe
91,5
139,7
161,3
157,4
176,9
-2,4
12,4
85,3
135,8
203,2
255,6
299,7
25,8
17,3
14,3
25,9
33,6
38,5
41,7
14,6
8,3
4,8
9,9
14,9
19,9
24,2
33,6
21,6
131,3
145,5
165,9
180,7
198,3
8,9
9,7
102,0
107,7
119,2
131,2
144,7
10,1
10,3
17,2
20,9
22,4
22,8
23,5
1,8
3,1
10,3
22,0
28,6
30,5
32,7
6,6
7,2
52,2
46,6
24,3
-10,7
REGIONS
WORLD
Europe
Asia & Pacific
Oceania
South Asia
America
North America
Caribbean
Africa
2009
2010
(billions $)
16,8
26,6
42,0
Middle East
2011
2010/09 2011/10
% change
8,7
12,3
Chart 2
International Tourism Expenditure 2012/11 (change %)
China
42,0%
Russia
USA
U. K.
Germany
31,0%
7,0%
5,0%
3,0%
Italy
-2,0%
Spain
-4,0%
-7,0% France
-18,5%
-30,0%
-20,0%
Greece
-10,0%
0,0%
10,0%
20,0%
30,0%
40,0%
50,0%
6
7
Prospects for 2013.
For 2013, the WTO estimates that the increase in international arrivals will range between 3
and 4%.
Table 3
Expected Change in International Arrivals for
2013
World
+3% to+4%
Europe
+2% to+3%
Asia and Pacific
+5% to+6%
America
+3% to+4%
Africa
+4% to+6%
Middle East
+0% to +5%
For another year the Asia-Pacific region and the countries of sub-Saharan Africa will be the
leaders of the ongoing tourism activity development. Arrivals at those regions are expected
to increase by 6%. The U.S. is expected to improve its performance by 3 to 4% and Europe
will follow with lower rates.
The course of the tourism market in the Middle East will depend largely on the political
developments in the region. If the war continues in Syria and turmoil in countries like Egypt
and Tunisia, tourism will suffer severely. Such a development would benefit the tourism
industry of other Mediterranean destinations in southern European countries.
Developments in competitor countries.
As it has been mentioned earlier, destinations in the countries of South and South-East
Europe, except for Greece, attracted a larger number of tourists in 2012.
As it is shown in Table 4, all the main competing countries achieved growth in arrivals in
2012. In Croatia foreign arrivals grew by 5.1%, in Portugal by 5%, in Cyprus by 3% and in
Turkey by 1.1%. In contrast, Greece recorded a 5.5% decrease.
Table 4
Evolution of foreign tourism in Greece and the competitor countries
% change
Arrivals
Country
Period
2010/09
2011/10
Tourism Receipts
2012/11
Period
2010/09
2011/10
2012/11
GREECE
Jan.- Dec.
0.6
9.5
-5.5
Jan.- Dec.
-7.6
9.3
-4.6
Italy
Jan.- Dec.
1.0
5.2
0.8
Jan.- Dec.
1.4
5.6
3.4
Spain
Jan.- Dec.
0.9
7.6
1.8
Jan.- Dec.
3.9
8.6
0.7
Jan.- Dec.
1.7
10.1
5.0
Jan.- Dec.
10.0
7.2
5.6
Jan.- Dec.
3.6
7.4
5.1
Jan.- Dec.
-2.1
5.9
3.6*
Cyprus
Jan.- Dec.
1.5
10.1
3.0
Jan.- Dec.
3.8
12.9
6.1
Turkey
Jan.- Dec.
5.7
9.9
1.1
Jan.- Dec.
-2.0
10.6
1.8
Portugal
Croatia
(1)
(1)
(1) It refers to foreign tourist overnights in hotels.
* It refers to Jan.-Sept.
Source: National Statistical Authorities and Central Banks of the countries.
8
7
In terms of tourism receipts, it stands out the positive performance of Portugal (5.7%).Italy
has achieved a higher rate of increase in revenues compared to arrivals, suggesting that it
managed to sell its product at better prices. While in Spain it seems that prices lagged
slightly behind over 2011.
Greece has received 4.6% less revenue in 2012 than the previous year.
Chart 3
Key Tourism Figures 20012/2011 (Change %)
Foreign Tourist Arrivals (%)
6
Tourism Receipts (%)
8
5,1
4,0
4
1,8
2
0,7
1,1
2
-2
0
-4
-2
-6
-8
-5,5
3,6
3,4
4
0
6,1
5,6
6
3,0
1,8
0,7
-4
-6
-4,6
(Note) Tourism Receipts of Croatia refer to 9 months of 2012.
Source: National Statistical Authorities and Central Banks of the countries.
8
9
Overview of Greek tourism
The evolution of Greek tourism figures during 2012.
Inbound tourism in Greece decreased in 2012 by -5.5% compared to 2011. Greater was the
reduction in the arrivals from the EU-27 countries (-8.5%), due largely to the decline of
tourists from France (-15%) and Germany (-5.9%). Regarding other countries, arrivals from
Russia grew by 18.4%, while arrivals from USA fell by 23%.
Table 5
Foreign Tourist Arrivals at Selected Airports
January-December
Airports
2009
Thessalonica*
2010
2011
2012
10/09
11/10
12/11
1.189.444
1.146.356
1.261.885
1.319.018
-3,6
10,1
4,5
83.942
81.461
79.474
67.925
-3,0
-2,4
-14,5
1.273.386
1.227.817
1.341.359
1.386.943
-3,6
9,2
3,4
1.954.611
1.934.765
2.173.276
2.114.901
-1,0
12,3
-2,7
592.456
592.992
656.985
717.598
0,1
10,8
9,2
2.547.067
2.527.757
2.830.261
2.832.499
-0,8
12,0
0,1
1.273.006
1.374.926
1.647.707
1.608.064
8,0
19,8
-2,4
627.857
697.324
851.930
803.188
11,1
22,2
-5,7
1.900.863
2.072.250
2.499.637
2.411.252
9,0
20,6
-3,5
Araxos
41.418
39.636
38.015
66.107
-4,3
-4,1
73,9
Kalamata
30.446
32.874
30.967
33.407
8,0
-5,8
7,9
71.864
72.510
68.982
99.514
0,9
-4,9
44,3
Corfu
744.228
729.765
789.760
868.787
-1,9
8,2
10,0
Kefalonia
143.438
148.811
148.768
168.357
3,7
0,0
13,2
Zante
430.398
420.241
448.576
424.165
-2,4
6,7
-5,4
Aktio
147.574
143.950
143.965
142.465
-2,5
0,0
-1,0
1.465.638
1.442.767
1.531.069
1.603.774
-1,6
6,1
4,7
Mykonos
96.745
111.289
131.003
139.963
15,0
17,7
6,8
Santorini
162.414
181.352
200.576
200.165
11,7
10,6
-0,2
259.159
292.641
331.579
340.128
12,9
13,3
2,6
Skiathos
108.829
106.833
113.006
117.912
-1,8
5,8
4,3
Mytilene
71.452
62.010
62.889
49.442
-13,2
1,4
-21,4
Chios
11.967
12.079
9.971
8.420
0,9
-17,5
-15,6
6.563
5.575
7.473
7.620
-15,1
34,0
2,0
116.203
108.933
118.219
108.157
-6,3
8,5
-8,5
315.014
295.430
311.558
291.551
-6,2
5,5
-6,4
TOTAL
7.832.991
7.931.172
8.914.445
8.965.661
1,3
12,4
0,6
ATHENS
3.140.811
2.996.595
2.871.524
2.453.106
-4,6
-4,2
-14,6
10.973.802
10.927.767
11.785.969
11.418.767
-0,4
7,9
-3,1
Kavala
(N. Greece)
Irakleio*
Chania
(Crete)
Rhodes
Kos
(Dodecanese)
(Peloponnese)
(Ionian Islands)
(Cyclades)
Lemnos
Samos
(N. Aegean)
GRAND TOTAL
* Total Arrivals.
Source: Civil Aviation Authority, Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos”, Regional Airports.
According to data published by airports and by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), during
2012 arrivals by air of foreign tourists recorded a decrease of 3.1% compared to 2011, which
10
9
was considered a year of recovery for the Greek tourism market, evidencing an increase in
air-transport arrivals by 8% (Table 5).
Several regions of the country saw a rise in arrivals by air. The highest percentage increase
was recorded in the airports of the Peloponnese (44.3%) and particularly in that of Araxos.
However, in absolute terms, this increase corresponds to 30 000 additional tourists, since
the bulk of tourist flow arrives in Peloponnese by car or by boat via the Adriatic Sea.
The winners of 2012 include destinations of Northern Greece due to increased traffic from
the markets of Russia, Turkey and Middle East. Positive was also the outcome for
destinations of the Ionian Islands because of the recovery of the UK market.
Crete, though, recorded stagnation. Foreign arrivals by air fell (-3.5%) in the islands of South
Aegean as well as in the other islands of the Archipelago (-6.4%) due to a significant slump
in the German, Dutch and Swiss market.
However, in regional airports there was a marginal increase in arrivals by 0.6%. The negative
sign of arrivals throughout the country is mainly due to the Athens International Airport,
where arrivals fell by 14.6%.
Athens for another year experienced the negative consequences of the actual policy
situation and the degradation of its historic center. The resulting political conflicts and the
ongoing protest demonstrations turned the city center into a non friendly place for residents
and tourists. The concerted efforts of the State during 2012 to restore accessibility to the
city center have brought positive results, but still there are problems that must be addressed
by all stakeholders in the government and the city. If the public and private partnership
scheme for the recreation of the city center succeeds, Athens has all the natural and manmade resources that could make it the most attractive tourist destination in the Eastern
Mediterranean.
The less favorable course of arrivals did not leave untouched tourism receipts that fell by
4.6% in 2012, according to data from the Bank of Greece. The net receipts from travel
services, albeit reduced, contributed 55.7% in total net receipts from abroad and thus they
offset the 41.9% of the deficit of the trade account of the country.
Purpose of visit to Greece
Business travel to our country continued to decline during 2012. The second quarter of 2012
business travel fell by 19.2% compared to the same quarter of 2011.
10
11
Chart 4
Travel Receipts by Purpose of Visit
2010 & 2011
2010
6,8%
2011
7,8%
6,0%
6,8%
4,7%
4,9%
2,1%
2,7%
77,6%
80,4%
Source: Bank of Greece.
Table 6
Τravel Receipts by Purpose of Travel
(million €)
P e r s o n a l
Period
Leisure
Studies
Health
P u r p o s e s
Visit to
family
Other
reasons
Total
Personal
Purposes
Business
Purposes
Total
%
Change
regarding
last year
2007
8.765,8
280,6
41,7
715,5
534,9
10.338,5
980,7
11.319,2
-0,3
2008
9.301,2
272,2
50,4
646,0
462,0
10.731,8
904,1
11.635,9
2,8
2009
8.336,1
306,4
40,3
546,6
472,4
9.701,9
698,4
10.400,3
-10,6
2010
7.461,8
282,1
29,8
471,6
620,4
8.865,7
745,6
9.611,3
-7,6
2011
8.446,7
223,9
35,2
489,5
596,1
9.791,3
713,14
10.504,7
9,3
Ι
163,5
53,4
7,9
65,0
55,6
345,5
140,8
486,3
ΙΙ
2.123,6
96,6
10,3
126,4
122,1
2.479,0
193,5
2.672,5
ΙΙΙ
5.343,2
80,2
16,5
247,5
186,2
5.873,7
176,5
6.050,2
IV
705,8
76,1
5,5
107,7
108,5
1.003,7
187,6
1.191,3
Ι
135,7
53,2
7,7
71,1
60,9
328,5
148,1
476,6
-2,0
2009
% Change
on the
same
quarter of
last year
2010
ΙΙ
1.814,0
92,1
10,4
107,7
153,7
2.177,8
197,0
2.374,8
-11,1
ΙΙΙ
4.811,7
67,5
5,1
205,8
314,2
5.404,3
247,2
5.651,5
-6,6
IV
700,4
69,3
6,7
87,1
91,6
955,1
153,3
1.108,4
-7,0
2011
Ι
158,1
45,0
4,5
63,3
61,7
332,6
134,1
466,7
-2,1
ΙΙ
2.091,0
74,5
7,2
110,2
151,0
2.433,9
187,2
2.621,1
10,4
ΙΙΙ
5.437,9
53,4
15,9
225,2
279,0
6.011,5
234,5
6.246,0
10,5
IV
759,7
51,0
7,6
90,8
104,5
1.013,5
157,5
1.171,0
5,6
Ι
115,5
37,2
6,7
74,3
58,4
292,1
115,3
407,3
-12,7
ΙΙ
1.932,1
64,0
6,4
116,0
143,7
2.262,2
151,3
2.413,5
-7,9
2012
Source: Bank of Greece
12
11
Foreign arrivals by country of origin
The arrivals from traditional markets of other EU countries continued to decline in 2012,
recording a 8.5% decrease compared to 2011. The biggest losses were on the Polish market
(-43.5%) which attracted 200,000 fewer tourists. There was also a significant drop in the
French (-15%), Dutch (-14%), Swiss (-17.1%) and Finnish market (-8.1%).
Table 7
Foreign Tourist Arrivals in Greece by country of origin
COUNTRIES
2010
2011
2012
D%
2011/10
I. EUROPE
13.275.962
14.651.513
13.866.306
EUROPEAN UNION
10.199.904
10.698.013
9.791.900
4,9
-8,5
868.346
1.149.388
977.376
32,4
-15,0
Germany
2.038.871
2.240.481
2.108.787
9,9
-5,9
U.K.
1.802.203
1.758.093
1.920.794
-2,4
9,3
Spain
155.302
154.774
155.722
-0,3
0,6
Italy
843.613
938.232
848.073
11,2
-9,6
Netherlands
528.157
560.723
478.483
6,2
-14,7
Hungary
109.160
69.756
69.789
-36,1
0,0
Poland
France
10,4
D%
2012/11
-5,4
402.170
450.618
254.682
12,0
-43,5
Portugal
19.497
34.642
20.483
77,7
-40,9
Romania
257.939
223.699
230.396
-13,3
3,0
Sweden
281.069
333.906
319.756
18,8
-4,2
Czech Rep.
294.936
309.062
289.034
4,8
-6,5
Finland
205.282
167.632
154.134
-18,3
-8,1
Switzerland
274.418
361.405
299.619
31,7
-17,1
Norway
187.319
226.627
294.114
21,0
29,8
Russia
451.239
738.927
874.787
63,8
18,4
IIΙ. ASIA
869.737
882.643
921.808
1,5
4,4
Japan
10.021
10.125
8.841
1,0
-12,7
China
13.620
15.838
12.203
16,3
-23,0
Israel
197.159
226.110
207.711
14,7
-8,1
Turkey
561.198
552.090
602.306
-1,6
9,1
44.239
38.450
37.411
-13,1
-2,7
Egypt - Sudan
15.925
4.675
4.724
-70,6
1,0
South Africa
19.985
21.981
19.686
10,0
-10,4
691.379
719.661
558.728
4,1
-22,4
IV. AFRICA
II. AMERICA
Brazil
34.015
52.118
31.125
53,2
-40,3
USA
498.301
484.708
373.831
-2,7
-22,9
Canada
113.358
142.287
102.694
25,5
-27,8
V. OCEANIA
126.173
134.979
133.368
7,0
-1,2
Australia
108.088
115.902
117.852
7,2
1,7
15.007.490
16.427.247
15.517.622
9,5
-5,5
VI. TOTAL
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority, Bank of Greece, Border Survey.
12
13
The German market, which is the largest source for Greek tourism fell by 5.9%, meaning
150,000 fewer arrivals.
Inbound tourism from Northern Europe, especially from Germany, Holland and the
Scandinavian countries, was negatively affected by the political situation creating
uncertainty, by the defamatory comments of the international media about the social and
economic situation in our country and the risk of exit from the eurozone.
The negative climate was aggravated by the political uncertainty caused by the election
result of the 6th May. The climax of the instability in our country coincided with the
beginning of the tourist season and the time when Europeans choose the destination for
their summer vacation.
After the elections of 17th June, the situation in the tourist market returned again to normal,
but it was too late for a strong reversal of the downward trend in order to offset the loss of
the first seven months.
The strong decline of the Southern European markets should be attributed primarily to the
economic downturn, which these countries are facing. In contrast, UK constituted an
exception to the downturn that followed the tourist markets of EU countries. In 2012 Greece
attracted over 160,000 tourists from the UK (9.3%). Despite the impressive increase in
absolute numbers, the English market is still well below 350,000 tourists compared with the
2008 level.
Chart 5
Foreign Tourist Arrivals in Greece
(% change 2012/11)
25,0
18,4
20,0
15,0
9,3
10,0
9,1
5,0
0,0
-5,0
-9,6
-15,0
-20,0
-25,0
-5,5
-5,9
-10,0
-15,0
-14,7
-23,0
-22,9
-30,0
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority, Border Survey by the Bank of Greece.
The German market has continued to maintain the position of the largest originator of
tourism flows in Greece for another year, followed by Great Britain and France.
14
13
The Russian and Norwegian market continued to grow at high rates, despite the high rise
they had made the previous year. The Russian market expanded by 18.4%, following the
impressive growth of 63.8% that was recorded in 2011. It climbed fourth in the ranking in
2012 with 875,000 arrivals, surpassing in size the Italian market. Arrivals from Norway
increased by 29.8% after a similar increase in 2011. The upward trend continued in the
Turkish market that grew by 9.1%.
The second largest Asian market after Turkey is Israel. This year it declined by 8.1%, after an
increase of 139% over the previous year. The arrivals from Far East declined significantly,
mainly due to the precipitation of business tourism. Alarming decline was recorded in
arrivals from America. The U.S. market shrank by 22.9% and Canada by 27.8%.
Chart 6
Evolution of foreign tourism shares by region (%)
2010
2012
Asia
5,8%
America
4,6%
Other
regions
21,6%
Other
regions
27,4%
European
Union
68,0%
Asia
5,9%
European
Union
63,1%
America
3,6%
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority, Border Survey by the Bank of Greece.
Briefly, the image of individual markets in 2012 shows a significant reduction of shares from
the U.S. and EU countries. Asian markets improve slightly their share, mainly due to the
upward momentum that the Turkish market continues to show. The share of EU countries
fell by 5 percentage points. At their greatest extent such losses are covered by the increase
of tourist arrivals from European countries outside the EU (Russia, Norway). Finally, the
significant drop in arrivals from China and Japan shows that the inhabitants of these
countries combine trips to Greece with trade or other business. The Greek destinations have
not achieved yet to establish themselves as important centers for touring in the emerging
Asian markets.
Travel expenditure and average length of stay.
According to data from the annual border survey conducted by the Bank of Greece, the
average trip expenditure by foreign tourists in our country has declined steadily: from 730 €
in 2008, dropped to 639.50 € in 2011 (Table 8).
Correspondingly, the average daily consumption fell from 76.3 € in 2008 to 69.6 € in 2011.
The average length of stay of foreign tourists in Greece decreased from 9.6 days in 2008 to
8.0 in 2011 (Tab. 8).
14
15
Chart 7
Travel Expenditure by non-residents in Greece
7.000,0
6.050,2
5.651,5
6.245,9
6.000,0
5.000,0
4.000,0
0,0
Ι
ΙΙ
2009
1.191,3
1.108,4
1.171,1
1.000,0
2.672,5
2.374,8
2.621,1
2.413,5
2.000,0
486,3
476,6
466,7
407,4
3.000,0
ΙΙΙ
2010
2011
IV
2012
Source: Border Survey of the Bank of Greece.
Indications obtained from the first two quarters of 2012 show that the average length of
stay seems to have been stabilized in recent months at the low levels that prevailed after
2010.
Table 8
Travel Expenditure by non-residents in Greece
Year
Quarter
% Change of
Expenditure per
journey compared to
the same quarter the
previous year
Expenditure
per overnight
stay
(€)
Average
duration of
stay
2008
730,0
76,3
9,6
2009
697,3
73,5
9,5
2010
640,4
68,6
9,3
2011
639,5
69,6
9,2
2009
2010
2011
2012
Ι
469,7
-0,5%
61,9
7,6
ΙΙ
687,9
-4,1%
74,4
9,2
ΙΙΙ
777,2
-5,7%
74,6
10,4
IV
539,1
-4,1%
72,0
7,5
Ι
486,1
3,5%
61,9
7,9
ΙΙ
646,3
-6,0%
65,9
9,8
ΙΙΙ
686,0
-11,7%
70,5
9,7
IV
524,3
-2,7%
68,1
7,7
Ι
421,1
-13,4%
62,8
6,7
ΙΙ
624,7
-3,3%
70,5
8,9
ΙΙΙ
699,8
2,0%
70,4
9,9
IV
532,9
1,6%
66,5
8,0
Ι
416,2
-1,2%
59,8
7,0
627,0
0,4%
70,3
8,9
ΙΙ
16
Expenditure
per journey
(€)
15
Tourism seasonality in Greece.
According to the results of the Border Survey of the Bank of Greece, in 2012 68.9% of the
total tourist traffic corresponds to the period June - September, while 85% to the period
May - October. The rates for the same periods of the previous two years are almost identical
(Chart 8). Consequently, the above periods define the edge ("peak") of the tourist season in
Greece within a year for at least the last years.
Chart 8
Monthly Distribution of Tourist Arrivals in Greece
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
2012
2011
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
March
Feb
Jan
0%
2010
Examining the distribution of visitors per month, we observe that the above finding is
generally met with some variations among visitors from different nationalities (Chart 9). It is
characteristic that 81.3% of the Italians visiting Greece in 2012 made their holidays during
the period June - September, while a significant proportion of visitors from the USA came for
vacation in Greece in March (3.4%, the percentage is even higher for 2010 and 2011). The
Americans also had an increased percentage of total visits during the month of November
(7.4%), significantly higher than the corresponding percentage of visitors from other
countries. Noteworthy is also the fact that a significant volume of visitors from France (7% of
the total French visitors) came to Greece for holidays from April, one month earlier than the
visitors of other nationalities
16
17
Chart 9
Monthly Distribution of Tourist Arrivals by Country of Origin of the Visitors 2012
Euro Zone Countries
France
50%
Non Euro Zone Countries
Germany
Italy
U. K.
30%
Russia
USA
25%
40%
20%
30%
15%
20%
Dec
Oct
Nov
Sept
Jul
Aug
Jun
May
Apr
Feb
March
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
March
0%
Feb
0%
Jan
5%
Jan
10%
10%
The overall conclusion from the study of chart 9 is that visitors who come to Greece for
tourism from the U.S. are more evenly distributed over the period of one year compared to
visitors from other country of origin, clearly considering Greece as a purely summer
destination. At present, the winter tourism is a comparatively small part of total tourism
activity, though with significant growth potential.
Overnight stays of tourists in Greece
The monthly distribution of the duration of stay in Greece - as is the monthly distribution of
tourism expenditure - is identical to the picture of tourist arrivals as it is reflected in Chart 8.
The duration is expressed by the number of overnights made by tourists in Greece in hotels
and similar accommodation, in houses (owned or not), in vessels, but also in any other type
of accommodation.
Examining further the number of nights spent by tourists on a monthly basis in 2012, we
observe that during the period May - October and even more during the period June –
September, the number of nights per visit is significantly increased compared to the other
months. This picture - despite annual changes - generally occurred in the years 2010 and
2011 (Chart 10). It is characteristic that in the month of December, the length of stay is 30% 40% lower compared to the month of August
18
17
Chart 10
Number of nights per visit on a monthly basis for the years
2010 - 2012
12
11
10
9
8
7
2012
2011
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
March
Feb
Jan
6
2010
The length of stay in Greece varies between tourists from different countries of origin, with
the Italians generally making holidays no more than 7 days during the winter and 12 days in
the summer months, while the Americans prolong their stay generally more than other
visitors nationality, especially during the winter months. The Russians showed smaller
variations in the length of stay from month to month. In any case, it is again clear the trend
of tourists to spend more days in Greece during the summer months.
Chart 11
Number of nights per visit on a monthly basis by country of origin of visitors
2012
Euro Zone Countries
France
Germany
Italy
U. K.
16
Russia
USA
19
14
14
12
10
9
8
Dec
Oct
Nov
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
March
Feb
Jan
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Jan
Feb
Ma…
4
6
18
19
Expenditure per visit and day of stay in Greece
Changes in tourism expenditure per visit in a year is equivalent to changes in the number of
nights per visit. In August 2012, tourists spent on average about 750 euros during their stay,
while in December about 420 euros (45% reduction). General expenditure per visit is higher
during the summer months (Chart 12).
Chart 12
Tourism expenditure per visit on a monthly basis for the years
2010 - 2012
800
750
700
650
600
550
500
450
400
350
2012
2011
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
March
Feb
Jan
300
2010
The only notable differences are related to the size of the expenditure per visit of the
American and the Russian tourists who spend more during their stay compared to visitors of
other nationalities.
20
19
Chart 13
Tourism expenditure per visit on a monthly basis by country of origin of visitors
2012
Euro Zone Countries
France
1.200
Germany
Italy
U. K.
1.600
Russia
USA
1.400
1.000
1.200
800
1.000
600
800
600
400
400
Dec
Oct
Nov
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
March
Feb
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
Apr
May
March
Feb
Jan
Jan
200
200
With the exception of the months of August and September, the tourism expenditure per
day of stay decreased compared to 2011 (more than 10% for the months of February, March
and October). These changes resulted in changing the picture of 2011, which was
characterized by significantly higher costs per day spent at the beginning and at the end of
the summer tourist season, and going back the monthly change of the size to the picture of
2010, which was characterized by an increase in size until May, stagnation until October and
decline thereafter until December (Chart 14).
Chart 14
Tourism expenditure per day of stay on a monthly basis for the years
2010 - 2012
2012
100
2011
2010
90
80
70
60
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
March
Feb
Jan
50
20
21
The Russians and Americans spent 90 to 110 euros per day in the period May - October, a
figure significantly higher than that of visitors from other countries. The Russians also spent
more than 160 euros per day in December (probably during the Christmas holidays), while
significantly increased, compared to the other months, was the expenditure in the month of
December for the French. Overall, however, the daily expenditure of tourists from the 6
main countries of origin is higher during the summer than in the winter.
Chart 15
Tourism expenditure per day spent on a monthly basis by country of origin of
visitors
2012
Euro Zone Countries
France
100
Germany
Italy
U. K.
180
90
160
80
140
70
120
60
100
50
80
40
60
30
40
Russia
USA
Dec
Oct
Nov
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
March
Feb
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
March
Feb
Jan
Jan
20
20
Competitiveness of Greek tourism
To better capture the competitiveness of the tourism sector, the World Economic Forum for
the last seven years has established the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI),
which measures the factors and policies that influence the development of tourism sector in
different countries.
This index is derived through the estimation of fourteen separate indicators-pillars, critical
for the competitiveness of tourism, which fall into three broader categories of indicators.
The first is the institutional and regulatory environment of the country, the second is the
business environment and infrastructure, and the third is the man-made, cultural and
natural environment. For the 2013 TTCI 140 countries participated.
According to the latest data from the WEF, Europe remains the first region in the world in
terms of tourism competitiveness, as the first places in the overall TTCI index ranking are
occupied by European countries. Switzerland holds the leading position in the general
classification, while regarding the three sub-indices holds the first position in the ranking for
the regulatory and business environment, and ranks second in the man-made and natural
environment. Germany is in the second place of the overall ranking and in the ranking for
22
21
the regulatory and business environment. Supremacy in the ranking index for
anthropogenic, natural and cultural resources have steadily USA.
Finally, Greece lost another three positions in the overall standings for the competitiveness
of the tourism sector reaching the 32nd place in 2013 from the 29th place in 2011. However,
tourist infrastructure in Greece is classified as excellent and ranks in 3rd place on the pillar
tourist infrastructure. In a relatively good position (20th) is classified for the aviation
infrastructure and the rich cultural resources (25th). The loss of three positions in the overall
ranking is considered to be due to the shrinking of available resources for the development
of the tourism sector, because of the serious economic and financial problems.
Table 9
The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2013 and 2011 Comparison
T&T Regulatory
Framework
Overall Index
Score
Rank
Score
Rank
Rank
Score
Rank
Rank
Score
Rank
2011
Overall
Rank
2013
Score
2011
T&T Human,
Cultural and
Natural Resources
2013
2011
Overall
Rank
2013
Business
Environment and
Infrastructure
2013
2011
Switzerland
1
5,66
1
5,68
1
5,94
1
1
5,42
1
2
5,63
2
Germany
2
5,39
2
5,50
8
5,57
12
6
5,29
2
7
5,31
5
Austria
3
5,39
4
5,41
2
5,80
3
11
5,11
12
9
5,24
10
Spain
4
5,38
8
5,29
14
5,48
22
5
5,30
10
6
5,36
6
USA
6
5,32
6
5,30
44
4,95
44
2
5,36
3
1
5,65
1
France
7
5,31
3
5,41
9
5,56
7
7
5,18
8
11
5,20
9
Portugal
20
5,01
18
5,01
20
5,42
19
27
4,78
24
19
4,84
17
Italy
26
4,90
27
4,87
50
4,90
45
29
4,76
27
14
5,05
15
Cyprus
29
4,84
24
4,89
22
5,35
23
21
4,89
14
46
4,27
44
Czech Rep.
31
4,78
31
4,77
28
5,24
26
37
4,49
37
28
4,61
31
GREECE
32
4,75
29
4,78
39
5,02
34
33
4,65
29
30
4,58
29
Croatia
35
4,59
34
4,61
42
4,99
42
39
4,43
36
42
4,37
43
Turkey
46
4,44
50
4,37
64
4,62
66
52
4,08
39
27
4,63
28
Morocco
71
4,03
78
3,93
68
4,59
69
73
3,60
77
68
3,89
73
Egypt
85
3,88
75
3,96
86
4,35
70
77
3,56
74
84
3,74
71
Countries
Source: The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index, WEF 2013.
22
23
Policy Rules and Regulations
Environmental Sustainability
Safety and Security
Health and Hygiene
Prioritization of Travel &
Tourism
Air Transport Infrastructure
Ground Transport
Infrastructure
Tourism Infrastructure
ICT Infrastructure
Price Competitiveness in the
T&T Industry
Human Resources
Affinity for Travel & Tourism
Natural Resources
Cultural Resources
Table 10
Top Three Performing Economies per Pillar
Australia
14
56
13
40
39
4
49
20
18
137
22
38
2
20
Austria
37
6
7
1
22
30
15
1
20
131
17
12
49
12
Barbados
41
27
32
28
8
32
9
26
19
113
23
2
133
50
Brazil
119
30
73
70
102
48
129
60
55
126
62
83
1
23
Brunei
126
135
24
65
123
45
67
86
65
2
36
63
53
95
Canada
10
41
18
53
37
1
33
21
23
124
5
34
10
16
Cyprus
88
38
27
45
2
36
19
5
40
102
24
10
96
48
Finland
7
3
1
15
53
11
20
44
13
118
4
64
54
26
Gambia
65
34
84
105
25
81
50
126
110
3
111
21
114
121
Germany
33
4
14
2
77
7
6
23
11
125
18
61
31
4
GREECE
98
72
69
13
28
20
58
3
33
127
50
55
40
25
Hong Kong
3
118
3
50
12
6
1
71
2
32
8
3
84
42
Iceland
48
19
4
7
5
17
38
9
8
121
3
11
63
57
Iran
124
101
106
79
130
102
76
133
93
1
87
128
74
45
Italy
100
53
44
29
79
24
39
1
31
134
41
72
34
7
Kazakhstan
99
124
99
3
90
82
80
87
48
73
71
121
120
117
Korea, Rep.
50
69
39
19
75
31
16
51
1
96
33
81
89
10
Lebanon
115
127
116
33
38
67
110
27
84
68
64
1
136
68
Mauritius
28
77
36
66
3
60
37
48
69
75
49
6
134
110
New Zealand
2
22
9
17
21
12
46
11
22
74
13
17
26
52
Seychelles
55
70
91
63
1
27
31
29
58
120
56
5
65
64
Singapore
1
23
5
56
4
14
2
38
9
66
2
8
92
35
Spain
67
25
23
24
10
10
10
5
28
106
34
39
29
1
Sweden
16
1
8
38
74
19
17
36
3
129
12
33
45
2
Switzerland
17
2
2
10
11
9
3
5
6
139
1
25
19
6
Un. Arab
Emirates
13
91
50
61
36
3
26
24
39
35
15
24
71
33
U. K.
8
7
22
48
40
5
13
22
10
138
6
45
15
3
USA
23
112
57
51
30
2
27
13
17
94
14
69
3
5
Χώρες
Source: The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index, WEF 2013.
23
24
Developments in the institutional environment of Greek tourism
The previous year 2012 was marked by the re-establishment of the Ministry of Tourism
(Presidential Decree 85/2012, Government Gazette A’ 141/2012). Basis for the
establishment of the new Ministry were the services of the former Ministry of Tourism,
which were merged into the Ministry of Culture and Tourism through the following
institutional and administrative regulations:
The Ministry of Tourism also undertook the General Secretariat of Culture and
Tourism Infrastructure, which was renamed “General Secretariat for Tourism and
Infrastructure Investment”, while acquiring the competence for the management
and coordination of the programmes of the National Strategic Reference Framework
(NSRF) 2007-2013 that fall within the scope of tourism. The institutional framework,
governing the competences of the Ministry of Tourism, continues to be fluid, moving
in the direction of the absorption of powers of its supervised public entities.
In the context of the overall restructuring of the public sector and the saving of
resources, the Organisation of Tourism Education and Training (OTEK) was
abolished by the Law 4109/2013 (Gov. Gazette A’ 16/2013) titled "Abolition and
merging entities in the public and broader public sector”. The actions and
responsibilities of OTEK are eventually carried out by the Ministry of Tourism and its
educational units now operate as regional services.
In a bill filed for public consultation in January 2013, there is shift of competences
exercised by the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) to the Ministry of
Tourism in the field of tourism studies and investments. Apart from the
transposition of the relevant Directorates of GNTO to the Ministry, the latter
detaches the Special Agency for Promoting and Licensing Tourism Investments,
which was established in GNTO according to Article 12 of Law 4002/2011 (Gov.
Gazette A’ 180/ 2011), as amended by Article 148 of Law 4070/2012 (Gov. Gazette
A' 82/ 2012).
At this point, it is worth noting that the tourism business community, as expressed
by the professional collective bodies, when welcoming the re-establishment of the
Ministry of Tourism, had expressed the view that the Ministry of Tourism should be
enhanced by a range of powers exercised by other Ministries, which are considered
to be crucial for the operation and development of tourism businesses. The
activation of the Special Agency for Promoting and Licensing Tourism Investments
which approves and authorizes as "one stop service" tourist investments of over 300
beds, complex tourist accommodation and installations of special tourism
infrastructure, marks the first implementation of this new policy by the Ministry of
Tourism.
During 2012 a number of law changes also occurred in the regulatory field of tourism:
Key element to the development of entrepreneurship is the license regime for
tourist accommodation, which was amended by Law 4070/2012(Gov. Gazette A' 82/
2012), in order to simplify and accelerate the process of granting operation license
This license is made uniform for the entire hotel unit and its services, including
24
25
individual stores, restaurants, bars and swimming pools that operate in the hotel
premises. Henceforth, the same person could be responsible for the observance of
sanitary rules for all hotel services. The law provides for the possibility of granting by
GNTO preliminary approval of the accommodation operation when there is
submission of all necessary documents by the interested entrepreneur. A deadline
of 50 days is foreseen for the public administration to carry out the necessary
controls of the hotel establishment and grant the license operation. Strict
disciplinary action is taken against the officials who do not meet the deadlines.
The qualifications and requirements for the appointment of hotel Director have
been updated to meet the demands of 4 and 5 star hotels, based mostly on higher
or university education and work experience of the interested person.
The grid of provisions referred to the licensing of hotel accommodation received the
favorable impact of rationalization and simplification of the environmental
legislation. In accordance with the .Joint Ministerial Decision No 59845/2012 (Gov.
Gazette B’ 3438/2012) the environmental licensing of hotel accommodation, within
the city limits with a capacity of more than 120 beds and outside the city with a
capacity of less than 100 beds, becomes more simple. So, it is no longer required to
conduct Environmental Impact Study, but the hotel has to be subjected to Standard
Environmental Commitments which form an integral part of the operation license,
issued by GNTO. There is no time limit for the Standard Environmental
Commitments, which remain in effect unless significant changes occur to the
premises, for example increase in the capacity of the hotel by more than 10%.
In 2012 the framework for the creation and operation of “complex tourist
accommodation” was completed. This new form of accommodation has been
established by Article 8 of Law 4002/2011 (Gov. Gazette A’ 180/ 2011) and
henceforth a series of executive decisions have been issued , such as:
 The Ministerial Decision No. 177/2012 on determining the technical and
functional specifications of complex tourist accommodation (Gov. Gazette B’
319/2012).
 The Joint Ministerial Decision No. 278/2012 laying down specific energy
requirements (Gov. Gazette B’ 615/2012 ) and
 The Ministerial Decision No 125/2012 on setting standard regulations of joint
ownership and operation of complex tourist accommodation (Gov. Gazette B’
195/2012).
Tourist accommodation complex is a new form of integrated accommodation, which
includes 5-star hotel combined with furnished homes and special tourism
infrastructure on an area at least 150,000 sq.m. The houses can be sold or leased for
at least 10 years, while the proportion of the houses should not exceed 30% of the
total build-up area of the complex. It is provided by law to create such a complex in
an existing hotel if the area is at least 50,000 sq.m following specific terms and
conditions set forth in paragraph 6 of Article 8 of law.4002/2011. This new form of
accommodation ceased to be a point of contention between the state and the hotel
industry. after the above legislative clarification, that the tourist accommodation
26
25
complex is formed by the coexistence of three elements (5*hotel accommodation,
special tourist infrastructure and furnished holiday homes ) .
In the ever changing landscape of special forms of tourism, the Ministry of Culture
and Tourism introduced by Law 4070/2012 (Gov. Gazette A' 82/ 2012)., the form of
fishing tourism, despite the reactions of the key players in the tourism sector.
Fishing tourism consists in providing business packages of tourism services and
goods related to fisheries, aquaculture, sponges and to all the cultural and
gastronomic environment of fishing communities. The Law provides for the granting
of a special license for fishing tourism businesses owned by fishermen or
cooperatives of fishermen or fish farmers, who use professional fishing or sponge
fishing boats.
In the area of marine tourism, which is a major sector for Greek tourism, the
Ministry of Culture and Tourism included a special chapter in Law 4070/2012 on
tourist ports, modifying the existing legislation for their creation and operation. A
redefinition was given for tourist ports in order to include nautical sports vessels and
to distinguish for clarity in three separate categories: marinas, anchorages and
shelters. The General Secretariat for Tourism now has all the powers of location,
administration, management, operation, control and maintenance of electronic
records of tourist ports. Prohibition is introduced against docking vessels in fishing
ports or shelters where there is licensed tourist port in less than 5 nautical miles.
The hotel port which was a particular category of port according to Law 2160/1993
was abolished. A number of issues are also dealt with, mostly related to the
creation, process and operation of marinas, the operation rules on the marinas and
the rights of the management body.
The adoption of the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2013-2016 by Parliament with Law
4093/2012 (Gov. Gazette A’ 222/2012) included a number of provisions that have an impact
on the tourism sector, such as:
The Law facilitates the hotel enterprises to hire passenger car for private use with
driver. Thus, a long-standing demand of the hotel industry is realized adjusting the
national legislation in force with European law.
The status of the profession of tourist guide is amended in order to align with the
requirements of European Law, which are incorporated into Greek legislation
(Presidential Decree 38/2010). Consequently it is recognized the right of access to
the profession of tourist guide to nationals of Member States of the EU, who are
having the relevant qualifications obtained in another Member State of the EU and
recognized by the Council for the Recognition of Qualifications in accordance with
prescribed procedures. Moreover, intensive training courses for tourist guides are
foreseen for archeology and history graduates of domestic and foreign universities
26
27
Νational collective agreement for payment terms of the employed
in hotel enterprises all over the country.
The sectoral collective agreement on payment terms and working conditions of the
employed in the hospitality industry could be characterized as widely accepted and so far
almost of universal application.
It provides for a reduction of the basic sectoral salary of around 15%, while maintaining all
benefits (even those removed by the Memorandum of Understanding on Specific Economic
Policy Conditionality of February 2012) and bears no changes in the institutional aspects of
the previous agreement. The period of validity is from 1/7/2012 to 31/12/2013.
The agreement is tailored to the circumstances and new conditions that have shaped the
national economy, the tourism industry and consequently the hotel business. It resets
rationally and realistically the issue of conditions of remuneration of employees in Greek
hotels, moving in three axes:
 Business survival in an ever-worsening recessionary environment.
 Maintaining or increasing employment in hotels throughout the country,
 Achieving industrial peace in a very fragile social environment, the consistency of
which is tested daily.
Given the fact that the vast majority of hotel enterprises that are small and medium sized
struggle for viability, the new national sectoral collective agreement appears to shield the
working environment in Greek hotels, preventing bad practices that tarnish the image of
the industry and undermine the quality and value of the hotel product.
28
27
Annual survey of ITEP for the hotel market.
Identification of research.
ITEP in collaboration with the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels makes every year a field research
among Greek hotels with the questionnaire method. The questionnaire is sent to all hotels in
the country in order to gather information on the fundamentals of hotel units affected by
the situation. More specifically, the Hoteliers are invited to indicate their average monthly
occupancy rate, the average room price and employment during the months of October,
May and August.
The survey is usually conducted during September and therefore the October data are
related to the previous year. It is also reported the turnover of the previous financial year.
The performance of the hotels is associated with the quality and technical characteristics of
each unit kept at the database of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels.
In the 2012 survey the response was very satisfactory. Completed questionnaires were
received from 1,204 units, representing 13% of the total number of hotels in the country.
The hotels that have responded dispose 75,981 rooms and account for the 14.6% of the total
capacity. The layered distribution of this year's sample is quite satisfactory. There is only a
slight under-representation of low class hotel in some areas. For this reason the averages,
presented in the following analysis, were multiply weighted by the number of rooms of each
unit, by the relative distribution of rooms among the regions and the proportion of rooms of
each star category within the region, so as to reduce the relative bias of the estimates.
Reference point for all calculations in the present analysis is the room and not the hotel unit.
Changes of hotel capacity.
2011 was the first year in the postwar period where the number of new hotels was lower
than the number of those that closed, thereby recording a reduction in the number of hotel
units in operation and a corresponding reduction of their total bed capacity.
According to hotel records kept by the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, the number of hotels has
decreased by 80 units and the total capacity of the sector by around 2,000 beds.
This unprecedented reduction of the hotel capacity cannot be attributed solely to the
economic crisis that our country is experiencing the last three years. Besides, in 2009 and
2010, although Greek tourism had witnessed significant precipitation on the demand side,
the hotel capacity in the country increased by 4.4%.
28
29
Table 11
Evolution of Hotel Capacity
1990 - 2012
Year
Rooms
(000)
Units
%Change
compared to
previous year
(in rooms)
Average
Room size
1990
6.423
224,9
35,0
1995
7.387
281,6
7,4%
38,1
2000
7.856
309,1
0,2%
39,3
2001
8.073
320,5
3,7%
39,7
2002
8.285
329,4
2,8%
39,8
2003
8.527
339,5
3,1%
39,8
2004
8.843
351,9
3,7%
39,8
2005
9.036
358,7
1,9%
39,7
2006
9.110
364,2
1,5%
40,0
2007
9.207
368,0
1,0%
40,0
2008
9.227
375,1
1,9%
40,7
2009
9.559
383,0
2,1%
40,1
2010
9.732
397,7
3,8%
40,9
2011
9.653
396,2
-0,4%
41,0
2012
9.661
399,0
Source: Hellenic Chamber of Hotels.
0,7%
41,3
It should also be borne in mind that, during the period in question, the investments, that
were initiated prior to 2008, were in a state of completion, since many new projects had
been subsidized by development law. It is worth noting that in Greece the average time
between the completion of a project, since its inclusion in the Development Law and the
time of actual operation of the unit, is five years.
The most likely explanation for the reduction of the hotel capacity is the over-taxation
imposed to the industry after 2011
The mandatory inclusion of those who co-manage small hotels in the Self-Employed
Insurance Agency as well as the above mentioned over-taxation of real estate, made the
operation of small units, targeted primarily at low-income Greek clientele, unprofitable. This
explains why most closed units were located in the mainland and in the urban centers.
In 2012, the older investment projects that were completed exceeded the number of
closed units, so the hotel capacity in the country increased by 22 units and 3,110 rooms.
Most new units opened in the Cyclades and the Peloponnese, while in Central Greece,
Western. Macedonia, Thrace and Thessaly the number of hotels has continued to decline.
The average size of hotels in Greece continued to increase: from 41 rooms in 2011 it reached
41.3 rooms in 2012.
30
29
Chart 16
Evolution of hotel capacity
1990-2012
12.000
8.000
225
236 244
257 262
282 289
296
304 309 309
321
329
340
352 359
364 368
375 383
400,0
250,0
R
o
o
m
s
200,0
350,0
300,0
4.000
6.423
6.647
6.856
7.139
7.168
7.387
7.477
7.477
7.594
7.785
7.856
8.073
8.285
8.527
8.843
9.036
9.110
9.207
9.227
9.559
9.732
9.653
9.661
6.000
150,0
100,0
2.000
0
0
0
)
U
n
i
t
s
10.000
(
H
o
t
e
l
450,0
398 396 399
50,0
0,0
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
0
The ever widening difference in the slope of the curve, showing the evolution of beds and in
the curve, corresponding to the evolution of units, demonstrates the continuing increase in
the average size of hotel units in Greece. In 1990 the average size of the Greek hotel was 35
rooms and as mentioned above, in 2012 reached 41.3 rooms on average (Table 11).
At the same time, the qualitative composition of hotel capacity in the country continues to
improve. In 2012, the proportion of rooms in 5 star hotels rose to 13.98% of the total
capacity of the country, compared to 4.77% in 1990. 4-star hotels account for 25.1% and 3star hotels 23.83%. The share of 4stars hotel appears lower compared to the previous year,
although over 25 new units enrolled to the capacity of that particular class. This is due to the
fact that many of the 4 star units upgraded to 5 star.
As it is shown by the data of Chart 17, in 1990 only 4.8% of the total number of rooms in
Greek hotels belonged to the category of 5-stars. In 2005 the figure had risen to 8.1% and in
2010 to 12.9%. The relative share of 4-star hotels is also increasing over time, whereas the
proportion of all other categories is shrinking.
For example, 1-star hotels accounted for 10.6% of total hotel capacity in 1990, 8.9% in 2000,
7.4% in 2010 and just 7.1% in 2012 (Table 12, Chart 17).
The continuous improvement of the qualitative composition of hotel capacity in the country,
especially after 2005, should be attributed to the beneficial effect of the incentives given
through the development law for investments in modernization and in building new high
class hotels.. The regions of South Aegean and Peloponnese improved the proportion of fivestar hotel rooms in relation to the rest of the country.
30
31
Chart 17
Distribution of hotel capacity in rooms according to star category(%)
1990
2000
4,8
10,6
2012
5,8
8,9
7,1
22,3
14,7
25,3
29,2
33,6
35,7
25,1
28,7
24,4
5*****
2**
4****
1*
23,8
3***
Table 12
Distribution of hotel capacity according to star category (%)
1990 - 2012
5*****
1990
2000
2010
2012
4****
3***
2**
1*
Σύνολο
Units
0,7
7,3
24,5
42,4
25,1
6.423
Rooms
4,8
22,3
28,7
33,6
10,6
224.882
Beds
4,8
22,3
28,9
33,2
10,9
423.660
Units
1,0
9,7
18,6
50,0
20,8
7.936
Rooms
5,8
25,3
24,4
35,7
8,9
309.056
Beds
5,9
25,3
24,5
35,3
9,0
586.372
Units
3,2
12,7
23,3
44,7
16,1
9.732
Rooms
12,9
25,6
23,3
30,8
7,4
397.660
Beds
13,4
25,8
23,3
30,2
7,3
763.407
Units
3,6
12,9
23,8
44,2
15,6
9.661
Rooms
13,8
25,1
23,6
30,2
7,2
399.037
Beds
14,5
25,2
23,5
29,5
7,2
767.756
Risk of disinvestment in Greek tourism.
The last four years, the Public Investment Program (PIP) has fallen so much that it would be
difficult for the state to maintain the existing infrastructure. The explanatory statement of
the 2013 Budget shows that the PIP was reduced by 11.8% in 2010 and by 21.8% in 2011.
32
31
The performance of PIP is still declining during 2012 . The continued cuts of the PIP have
become the sole reserve of the government in order to achieve the strict fiscal targets set
out in the Memorandum (Table 13).
The continued disinvestment in tourism will probably cause a systemic problem in the
industry. The infrastructure and the overall picture of public space are an integral
component of the tourism product. If the quality of infrastructure and of the built
environment deteriorates, it will erode the competitiveness of the Greek tourism product,
while at the same time the enterprises will not be able to intervene for remedy.
Table13
Evolution of Public Investment Program 2003 - 2011
(in million €)
Public Investment Program
Other
National
Resources
Co-financed
Total
%
Change
relative to
previous year
2003
3.974
4.461
8.435
-
172.431
4,9
2004
4.639
4.883
9.522
12,9
185.266
5,1
2005
2.569
4.955
7.524
-21,0
193.050
3,9
2006
2.673
5.511
8.184
8,8
208.622
3,9
2007
2.763
6.046
8.809
7,6
223.160
3,9
2008
2.559
7.065
9.624
9,3
233.198
4,1
2009
2.455
7.133
9.588
-0,4
231.081
4,1
2010
2.218
6.236
8.454
-11,8
222.151
3,8
Years
GDP
% of GDP
2011
1.885
4.722
6.608
-21,8
208.532
3,2
Source: Direction of Public Investments Ministry of Development,, Directorate of Financial Policy
Ministry of Finance.
The PIP now has been restricted to 3.2% of GDP, with investments in fixed assets amounting
to 1.6% of GDP from 3.7% in 2008 (Table 14).
It should be noted that Greece, during the period from 2001 to 2009, presented higher
percentage of GDP for fixed capital investments compared to other countries of the Euro
zone. The last four years, the share of public investment in fixed assets falls short
significantly than that of our partners and our direct competitors in southern Europe.
32
33
Table 14
Gross Fixed Capital Investments of General Government
(%GDP)
Years
Greece
Eurozone Countries
2001
3,6
2002
3,4
2003
3,5
2004
3,6
2005
2,8
2006
3,4
2007
3,4
2008
3,7
2009
3,1
2010
2,2
2011
1,6
Source: EU Statistical Annex of European Economy (Spring 2012).
2,5
2,4
2,6
2,5
2,5
2,5
2,6
2,6
2,8
2,5
2,3
Private investment is shrinking even faster. According to data from the draft budget for
2013, total investments decreased by 21.3% in the first quarter of 2012, while public
investment for the same period noted single digit change.
Furthermore, the development programs for the hospitality industry have frozen the last
two years. The amendments and ministerial decisions that will launch the new development
law have not been yet finalized. In addition, the completion of investment projects that were
subject to investment aid programs in previous years, are being carried out very slowly,
because of the limitation of funds from the banking system and the long delays in the
payment of approved grants from the state.
Table 15
Domestic MFI Credit to Domestic Enterprises by Branch of Economic Activity
(million euros)
Year
Quarter
2010
Ι.
2011
2012
Agriculture
Industry
Commerce
3.987
23.934
33.203
ΙΙ.
2.200
26.829
III.
2.155
IV.
Tourism
Shipping
Total
7.639
10.701
135.105
26.724
7.376
19.340
130.159
24.471
25.873
7.274
17.798
123.543
2.060
24.269
25.355
7.355
17.498
123.244
Ι.
2.124
24.854
25.407
7.404
16.983
122.173
ΙΙ.
2.031
24.862
25.245
7.224
16.927
121.372
III.
2.024
23.907
25.678
7.282
18.306
122.680
IV.
2.009
23.405
24.687
7.229
18.008
120.126
Ι.
1.921
23.054
24.053
7.490
16.231
118.316
ΙΙ.
1.895
22.879
23.590
7.453
14.803
114.529
III.
1.503
22.011
22.641
7.326
14.190
110.320
IV.
-
-
-
-
-
-
33
34
Percentage Change ΙΙΙ/2012 compared to same Quarter of 2010
Agriculture
Industry
Commerce
Tourism
Shipping
Ι.
-51,82%
-3,68%
-27,56%
-1,95%
51,68%
-12,43%
ΙΙ.
-13,86%
-14,72%
-11,73%
1,04%
-23,46%
-12,01%
III.
-30,26%
-10,05%
-12,49%
0,71%
-20,27%
-10,70%
IV.
-
-
-
-
-
Total
-
Source: Monthly Bulletin of the Bank of Greece.
According to data from the Bank of Greece, the loan balances of tourism enterprises were
reduced by 3% in August 2011 over the previous year. This means that the repayment of
installment payments is greater than new loans to tourism businesses.
Considerable interest presents the low participation rate of the tourism industry to the
overall financing of private enterprises from the banking system (Chart 18). Although the
tourism industry contributes over 15% of the country's GDP, it absorbs only 5.8% of the
credits granted by banks to private companies. The underfunding of the sector cannot
continue for long without penalizing long-term prospects of Greek tourism enterprises.
Chart 18
Share of Productive Sectors to Domestic Bank Credit
(III Quarter2012 )
Agriculture
1,4%
Other
Branches
38,7%
Industry
20,0%
Trade
20,5%
Shipping
12,9%
Tourism
6,6%
Source: Monthly Bulletin of the Bank of Greece.
The government acknowledges that the rate of decline in bank credit to the private sector
continues to be accelerated for the fourth consecutive year. This restriction is attributed to :
 a lack of demand for such new investment loans,

the sharp and prolonged downturn in economic activity,
34
35
 the climate of increased uncertainty and to the
 lack of liquidity that the banks are facing due to the continuous decline in their
deposit base and limited access to international money markets.
On the merits, the Government attaches part of the responsibility for reducing the
investment interest on the side of the private sector, which has been affected by the
economic uncertainty, the low utilization of the existing capacity of enterprises and the large
unsold inventory of buildings resulting in undervalues.
The above observations may be accurate for some of the branches of the national economy,
but it is not so for an extroverted and competitive sector of the economy, such as the Greek
tourism. The big hotel companies and those that are located in coastal areas, especially on
the islands, they can replace the loss of the internal market by attracting more foreign
tourists. In order to achieve this, they have to adjust their product to the demands of new
customers. So, investments are needed for modernization and also working capital to
support the openings in new markets. In other words in the present context the hotels need
more capital than in the past.
Consequently, the decline in the loan balances of tourism businesses in recent years cannot be
attributed to a corresponding lack of interest by the private sector. Therefore, it is difficult to
understand the very low rate of the tourism sector participation in total bank financing.
According to data from the Bank of Greece on the bank financing of domestic companies,
loan balances of tourism enterprises by the end of the first 9 months of 2012 amounted to
7,326 million euros. The tourism sector, as it was mentioned above, received only 5.8% of
credits granted by domestic banks to the private sector of the economy, despite its
significant contribution to national income. The credit exposure of banks in the tourism
sector remains essentially unchanged from 2009 (7.358 million) to date.
This actually means that the amortization installments paid by tourism businesses for earlier
loans are higher than new loans in recent years.
This is a clear indication that new investments in fixed assets are lower than the
depreciation of existing buildings used by tourism businesses in our country. In other words,
the production capacity of the industry deteriorates without being replaced.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the underfunding of public works and tourism
businesses cannot go on any longer without damaging the quality of the tourism product of
our country and without harming irreparably the long-term prospects of the industry.
Greek hotels' revenues in 2011.
The turnover statistics collected in the annual survey are related to the previous financial
year. Therefore, this year's report presents the results of the Greek hotels in 2011.
2011 was a year of recovery for the Greek hoteliers. The current field research conducted by
ITEP revealed that in 2011 the average income per room amounted to 14,490 euros and was
up by 9.2% compared to 2010. It should be noted that the receipts of Greek hotels in 2010,
36
35
were reduced by 13.4% compared to 2009. The crisis has particularly hit the hotels of 3 and
4 stars. Instead, limited losses were recorded in the units of lower categories.
The recovery in 2011 was more in favor of the grand hotels of higher category addressed
primarily to foreign customers. As it is shown in Table 16, the revenues of 5-star hotels were
increased by 12.3% compared to 2010. The 4 star hotels increased their revenues by 11.3%
and the 3 stars by 7.5%. In contrast, in 2-star hotels their receipts shrank by 3.4% and in one
star hotels by 5.6%.
With the exception of units in the South Aegean, the annual revenue of one star hotels is
very low, since it does not exceed € 3,000 per room.
Table 16
Average Revenue per Room 2011 and Percentage Change versus 2010
REGION
Attica
(excl. islands)
Central Greece
(excl. Attica)
Epirus- Thessaly
MacedoniaThrace
Peloponnese
Aegean Islands
Crete
Cyclades –
Dodecanese
Ionian Islands
COUNTRY TOTAL
2011
COUNTRY TOTAL
2010
D% 2011/2010
5*****
4****
3***
2**
1*
Averag
e
2011
Averag
e
2010
D%
2011/1
0
50.064,
7
21.779,
4
12.298,
7
10.343,
3
4.784,9
27.517,8
28.095,1
-2,1%
24.721,
7
11.486,
6
8.173,2
3.506,4
2.164,3
8.815,8
8.661,9
1,8%
20.164,
0
28.123,
7
18.317,
3
19.086,
8
22.880,
5
23.048,
0
18.233,
8
27.556,
9
24.532,
7
11.682,
9
15.528,
7
13.498,
9
10.070,
4
14.987,
2
15.136,
9
14.162,
5
15.450,
0
13.887,
4
7.018,5
5.202,3
3.249,8
8.958,4
9.848,6
-9,0%
7.803,0
4.484,6
3.411,5
13.869,1
11.132,6
24,6%
8.587,7
5.190,3
1.728,3
10.223,8
10.495,8
-2,6%
5.410,2
4.783,0
1.312,5
7.931,0
7.800,8
1,7%
9.681,0
4.989,4
2.552,2
15.111,9
12.837,4
17,7%
8.721,2
6.703,9
5.240,2
13.755,9
12.285,9
12,0%
7.566,3
5.477,1
1.754,1
10.275,1
10.109,7
1,6%
8.650,2
5.709,2
3.344,5
14.491,2
13.274,4
9,2%
8.043,3
5.912,1
3.544,2
13.274,4
12,3%
11,3%
7,5%
-3,4%
-5,6%
9,2%
Source: ITEP, Field research on hotels in Greece 2012.
It is apparent that family hotels, offering services of low quality, have difficulty to address
the international tourism market in order to compensate for the loss of their turnover from
the precipitation of the internal market.
At regional level, the best performance compared to 2010 was achieved by the hotels of
Macedonia-Thrace, which greatly benefited from the continued improvement of tourist flows
from the Russian and Turkish markets.
Very good financial performance was also achieved by the hotels in Crete with their receipts
increased by 17.7% and hotels on South Aegean islands with an increase of 12%.
36
37
The hotels on the mainland showed poorer performance in 2011. The largest decrease in
revenues was recorded by hotels in Epirus, Thessaly, Peloponnese and Attica.
In absolute terms, the high class hotels in Attica and Thessaloniki continue to have the
bigger receipts, earning significant income from the offering of halls and mass catering
premises, addressed to the general public.
As in previous years, the smaller revenue per room is presented by hotels in the North
Aegean and Central Greece. This is attributed to the fact that the hotels in the North Aegean
Sea have the highest seasonality and hotels in the hinterland of mainland serve primarily
low-income Greek tourists or operate only during the winter season.
Greek hotel occupancy rates in 2012.
In 2012, the image of tourist activity in Greece showed two faces. In the first 7 months it
showed a significant precipitation of tourism demand. Political uncertainty, combined with
deep and prolonged recession, reduced to an unprecedented extent the demand from the
domestic market. The inbound tourism was also negatively affected by the defamatory
comments of the international media about the political and economic situation and the
underlying risk of exit from the Euro zone.The double elections at the start of the season had
unfavorable effects on the whole tourism market. In May 2012, the average occupancy rate
of Greek hotels was reduced by 6.2% compared to the same month in 2011 and it amounted
on average to 45.29%.
This is the average occupancy rate of the hotels that operated at the said period. This
clarification is necessary because in 2012 an unusual phenomenon appeared that was
related to the large number of seasonal low class hotel, which did not work at all until the
end of May. The total of 4 & 5 stars were in operation, but the 12.8% of the total capacity of
the one star hotels remained inactive, also the 10.3% of 2 star hotels and the 6.9% of 3 star
hotels. (Table 17).
Table 17
Closed Hotels in 2012 (%)
Region
Attica
(excl. islands)
Central Greece
(excl. Attica)
Epirus- Thessaly
Macedonia- Thrace
Peloponnese
Ionian Islands
Cyclades – Dodecanese
Crete
Aegean Islands
COUNTRY TOTAL
5*****
4****
3***
2**
1*
Total
0,0%
0,0%
8,2%
0,0%
0,0%
2,1%
0,0%
0,0%
14,9%
11,1%
21,4%
9,6%
0,0%
0,0%
0,0%
0,0%
0,0%
0,0%
0,0%
0,0%
0,0%
0,0%
0,0%
3,2%
0,0%
0,0%
5,1%
7,8%
15,9%
6,9%
5,3%
2,0%
0,0%
19,7%
10,8%
6,1%
11,8%
15,7%
4,1%
9,8%
0,0%
16,5%
53,1%
29,9%
2,2%
8,0%
0,0%
8,0%
5,0%
7,2%
5,8%
5,3%
1,2%
2,8%
0,0%
1,1%
6,9%
10,3%
12,8%
4,3%
38
37
This is a highly unfavorable development, because it proves that the season in low class
hotels and especially in those that are located on the mainland, is shrinking constantly.
In August instead, increased demand, manifested by foreign markets, more than offset the
continued subsidence of domestic tourism. The restoration of confidence after the election
on 17th June, resulted in a marginal improvement in the average occupancy rate of the Greek
hotels in August 2012, compared to the corresponding month of 2011, the average
occupancy rate improved by 0.1% and amounted to 77.86%.
The last two years the tourist destinations of the mainland followed diametrically opposite
direction from the island destinations. The cities of mainland attracted business trips and
areas traditionally visited by Greek middle and low income class holidaymakers continue to
show further decline in the occupancy rate of hotels. On the other side, island destinations
that host a large number of foreign tourists continuously upgrade their relative position.
It is indicative that in May the occupancy rate decreased by 23.38% in Attica, 18.6% in
Epirus-Thessaly, 14.34% in the Peloponnese and 10.76% in Central Greece. With the
exception of Attica, the same areas had shown a reduction in occupancy rate during 2011.
Only hotels of Macedonia-Thrace, Crete and the Ionian Islands recorded rise in occupancy.
This year, the region of Macedonia-Thrace experienced the most positive performance
although in 2011 the region was a negative protagonist. To this fact contributed two
occasional factors:
Better performance by the hotels in Thessaloniki that hosted a significant number of
injured people and their escorts from Libya, with their costs covered at a great
extent by the oil-rich countries of the Middle East and
The continuation of the upward trend in tourist arrivals from the Russian market,
Turkey and other Balkan countries visiting by road destinations of Northern Greece.
In conclusion, it should be noted that over time, regardless of market conditions, it appears
that tourism activity continues to be concentrated in the island destinations of the country
38
39
Chart 19
Average Occupancy Rate in Hotels by Region (Change %)
(August )
8,00
6,00
4,00
5,76
5,02
3,22
5,57
3,32
2,56
1,66
1,45
2,00
2,56
0,10
-7,09
-10,00
-3,27
-5,52
TOTAL COUNTRY
-1,58
Ionian Islands
Crete
Cyclades – Dodecanese
-8,00
-2,69
Aegean Islands
-5,33
Peloponnese
-3,51
Macedonia- Thrace
-6,00
-1,74
Epirus- Thessaly
-4,00
-1,81
Central Greece (excl.
Attica)
-2,00
Attica (excl. islands)
0,00
-8,63
D% 11/10
D% 12/11
Table 18
Average Occupancy Rate in Hotels (%)
Region
May
Change%
August
Change%
2010
2011
2012
11/10
12/11
2010
2011
2012
11/10
12/11
Attica
(excl. islands)
61,08
70,89
54,32
16,06
-23,38
53,67
55,40
54,40
3,22
-1,81
Central Greece
(excl. Attica)
39,09
28,93
25,82
-25,99
-10,76
63,80
60,40
59,35
-5,33
-1,74
Epirus- Thessaly
46,12
36,10
29,39
-21,73
-18,60
65,04
60,43
58,31
-7,09
-3,51
Macedonia- Thrace
50,88
39,66
44,89
-22,05
13,20
72,33
66,09
69,41
-8,63
5,02
Peloponnese
36,70
34,15
29,25
-6,95
-14,34
73,13
75,00
72,98
2,56
-2,69
Ionian Islands
40,14
38,95
30,75
-2,96
-21,05
70,29
74,34
70,23
5,76
-5,52
Cyclades –
Dodecanese
54,74
50,46
51,54
-7,82
2,14
89,06
87,65
88,92
-1,58
1,45
Crete
47,67
50,31
46,31
5,54
-7,94
85,13
89,87
86,93
5,57
-3,27
Aegean Islands
51,03
47,66
48,29
-6,60
1,32
86,55
87,99
90,91
1,66
3,32
COUNTRY TOTAL
47,33
48,28
45,29
2,01
-6,20
75,84
77,78
77,86
2,56
0,10
By all previous studies we know that the size of the hotel unit is positively correlated with
the achieved average occupancy rate (Table 19). This has also been confirmed this year as
40
39
the small family hotels have achieved occupancy rate in May 24.76%, while in August
occupancy rate stood at 67.40% on average.
Table 19
Average Occupancy Rate in Hotels by Size(%)
Size
Family hotels
(1-20 rooms)
Small hotels
(21-50 rooms)
Medium-sized
hotels
May
Change%
August
Change%
2010
2011
2012
11/10
12/11
2010
2011
2012
11/10
12/11
35,03
26,14
24,76
-25,38
-5,30
66,45
68,65
67,40
3,31
-1,82
44,48
37,00
34,26
-16,82
-7,41
71,96
72,55
73,51
0,82
1,32
47,25
47,46
41,04
0,44
-13,53
73,15
72,92
73,24
-0,31
0,44
53,91
55,52
53,47
2,99
-3,70
82,62
82,60
82,40
-0,02
-0,25
47,33
48,28
45,29
2,01
-6,20
75,84
77,78
77,86
2,56
0,10
(51-100 rooms)
Large hotels
(> 101 rooms)
Hotels Total
Small hotel units (from 20 to 50 rooms) in May achieved occupancy rate of 34.3%, the
medium size of 41% and large (over 100 rooms) 53.5%. In August, the differences are less
visible, but again the big hotels achieve higher occupancy.
Table 20
Average Occupancy Rate in Hotels by Star Category(%)
Star Category
May
Change%
August
Change%
2010
2011
2012
11/10
12/11
2010
2011
2012
11/10
12/11
5*****
52,71
56,17
55,83
6,56
-0,60
77,17
77,02
81,72
-0,19
6,10
4****
57,41
57,32
52,04
-0,16
-9,22
84,73
84,63
82,76
-0,12
-2,22
3***
46,95
39,71
38,98
-15,42
-1,83
75,07
73,3
72,83
-2,36
-0,65
2**
39,01
35,39
32,43
-9,28
-8,38
70,84
72,49
72,34
2,33
-0,20
1*
35,57
25,68
25,64
-27,80
-0,14
67,57
73,83
72,27
9,26
-2,11
47,33
48,28
45,29
2,01
-6,20
75,84
77,78
77,86
2,56
0,10
Hotels Total
In small and medium size units, the occupancy rate is 75% and in large units (over 100
rooms) at 82.4%. However, occupancy rates have remained stagnant even in big hotels
compared to 2010.
Similar indications are recorded in the statistics relating to changes in occupancy rates
relative to the star categories (Table 20). Higher occupancy rate is achieved by hotels of high
star categories. In May, occupancy rate in 4 & 5 star hotels is around 55%, whereas in August
40
41
is around 82%. On the opposite side, the hotels of medium quality level show in May
occupancy rates lower than 40% and in August around 72.5%.
Over time it seems that the high-class hotels are constantly improving their average
occupancy, while the two and one star hotels are unable to retain their customer base. It is
indicative that in August 2012 the marginal improvement in average occupancy rate of
Greek hotels is due to the overall performance of the best five star hotels. They improved
the occupancy with respect to 2011 by 6.1%, while in all other star categories the occupancy
rate was lower than in 2011.
It is obvious that during the crisis, the high class hotels are able to exert a more flexible
pricing policy. Limiting the prices of their rooms, they can easily limit the losses in terms of
overnights. Moreover, high-class hotels were always less dependent on the domestic
tourism market. In any case it is easier for them to recoup their losses by attracting more
customers from the international market.
It is indicative that in May the 61.7% of Greek hotels had an average monthly occupancy rate
below 40%, while only 3.9% of hotels had occupancy rates exceeding 80% (Table 21).
Things are considerably better as it is expected in August. Only 16.3% of the units, most of
them located in urban centers of the mainland achieve occupancy rate below 40%. About
50% of hotels have an average occupancy rate of over 70%. Finally, nearly 30% of the units
achieved in August occupancy rates exceeding 90% It is indicative that in May the 61.7% of
Greek hotels had an average monthly occupancy rate below 40%, while only 3.9% of them
had occupancy rates exceeding 80% (Table 21).
Table 21
Distribution of Average Occupancy Rate Achieved by Greek Hotels in 2012
Range of Occupancy
Average Occupancy <20%
May 2012
Cumulative
% Hotels
Distribution
33,9
33,9
August 2012
Cumulative
%
Distribution
5,9
5,9
Average Occupancy 21-40%
27,8
20,2
8,8
61,7
81,8
90,7
10,4
12,6
8,1
16,3
28,9
37,0
5,4
96,1
13,1
50,1
2,1
98,2
20,8
70,9
1,8
100,0
29,1
100,0
Prices of the Greek hotel product.
As it is shown by the data in this year's survey of ITEP, the prices of rooms in Greek hotels
remained for another year essentially unchanged. The weighted average price of the rooms
throughout the country increased by 1.14% in May and 1.97% in August (Table 22). These
differences fall within the limits of statistical error, taking into account the continuing
42
41
improvement of the hotels of higher categories in the proportion of the total capacity of
hotel rooms offered in the market.
Table 22
Average Room Rate in Hotels by Region (€)
Region
May
Change%
August
Change%
2010
2011
2012
11/10
12/11
2010
2011
2012
11/10
12/11
Attica
(excl. islands)
108,90
98,54
87,08
-9,51
-11,63
118,68
98,83
82,90
-16,73
-16,11
Central Greece
(excl. Attica)
61,20
52,04
57,20
-14,97
9,91
77,38
65,67
73,78
-15,13
12,35
Epirus- Thessaly
68,29
56,11
50,91
-17,84
-9,27
84,83
65,35
65,94
-22,96
0,90
MacedoniaThrace
67,40
68,73
62,02
1,97
-9,77
110,15
102,36
106,04
-7,07
3,60
Peloponnese
75,42
68,26
68,21
-9,49
-0,07
98,71
95,17
88,63
-3,59
-6,87
Ionian Islands
44,69
51,65
52,04
15,57
0,76
66,74
70,63
72,81
5,83
3,09
Cyclades –
Dodecanese
61,47
66,35
70,45
7,94
6,18
97,37
106,55
122,12
9,43
14,62
Crete
57,95
61,32
62,62
5,82
2,12
97,84
109,55
111,42
11,97
1,70
Aegean Islands
57,20
55,07
57,82
-3,72
4,99
103,56
107,41
96,50
3,72
-10,16
COUNTRY TOTAL
65,80
65,28
66,02
-0,79
1,14
99,42
100,16
102,13
0,74
1,97
For the record, it should be recalled that prices followed an upward trend from 2000 to
2008, which remains the record year for prices in Greek hotels. In 2009, prices fell by about
5% and they have since remained essentially unchanged.
In May 2012, the average room rate in the whole country stood at 66 €, from 65.3 € in May
2011. Respectively in August 2012 it increased to 102.13 €, from 100 € in August 2011.
The prices have not varied in a similar manner throughout the country. Hotels on most
island destinations recorded significant price increases, while the ones on the mainland
recorded significant price decreases. The greatest decrease in hotel rates occurred in Attica
(-16.1% in August and -11.6% in May).
Hotels in Peloponnese also recorded reduction in prices, which in May rose to 9.5% and in
August to 3.6%. The islands of the Ionian Sea are included in the destinations with negative
performance, where, despite a 5% increase recorded in May, a spectacular price reduction
occurred in August of around 10% (Chart. 20). The hotels there were forced to offer tour
operators more rooms in attractive prices. Thus, it was possible to attract an increased
number of clients from the English market and counteract the precipitation in sales from the
Italian and domestic market. In other words, hotels of the Ionian lost many individual clients
from the Italian and Greek markets that pay higher prices during the high demand period in
August.
42
43
Chart 20
Evolution of Average Room Rate in Hotels by Region
(August)
20,00
15,00
14,62
12,35
11,97
9,43
10,00
5,00
5,83
3,09
3,60
0,90
1,70
3,72
0,74 1,97
0,00
-5,00
-7,07
-10,00
-3,59
-6,87
-10,16
-15,00
-16,11-15,13
-20,00 -16,73
-25,00
-22,96
11/10
12/11
In the other island destinations, especially in Crete, there were price increases. In the South
Aegean the average selling room rate rose to 111,4 € and it was increased approximately by
1.7% compared to 2011. This is a positive development, since the previous year prices had
risen by 12%. In North Aegean islands price increases were more moderate and fluctuated
around 3%. The winner of this year was undoubtedly Crete. The prices of the rooms were
improved by 6.2% in May and by 14.6% in August.
Regardless of the positive performance of the tourism market in the above region, it should
be noted that the rise in prices over the last three years in the South Aegean and Crete is
largely due to the increase in the number of rooms in five star hotels. This development led
to a corresponding increase in the specific weight of the rooms of this category in shaping
the average sale price of hotel rooms in the area.
One interesting remark is the fact that higher prices in August were recorded in the hotels of
Crete, South Aegean and Ionian Sea, while traditionally higher average prices had been
recorded in Attica and Central Macedonia. This is another clear indication that in 2012 prices
increased in resort hotels, whereas in city hotels serving customers in the greater proportion
from the domestic market, prices continued to move downward after an even greater
decrease that was noted in the previous two years.
As it was noted earlier, smaller hotels during the crisis have made the biggest price
reductions. Small family hotels (up to 20 rooms) displayed a slight decrease in prices by 1.4%
in August and significantly greater (-6.6%) in May. In the category of small hotels, price
decrease was about 4% in both May and August. Reduced prices by 6% show medium sized
hotels in May, although they improved their pricing by 2.9% in August.
43
44
Table 23
Average Room Rate in Hotels by Size (€)
Size
Family hotels
(1-20 rooms)
Small hotels
(21-50 rooms)
Medium-sized
hotels
May
Change%
August
Change%
2010
2011
2012
11/10
12/11
2010
2011
2012
11/10
12/11
51,61
51,40
48,01
-0,41
-6,60
66,89
67,19
66,26
0,45
-1,39
53,81
48,82
46,81
-9,27
-4,11
73,08
70,11
67,34
-4,06
-3,95
53,86
59,27
55,78
10,04
-5,90
71,95
77,17
79,39
7,26
2,88
78,33
79,38
78,88
1,34
-0,63
126,89
122,62
127,61
-3,37
4,07
65,80
65,28
66,02
-0,79
1,14
99,42
100,16
102,13
0,74
1,97
(51-100 rooms)
Large hotels
(> 101 rooms)
Hotels Total
With regard to price trends in different hotel categories, it should be noted that low class
hotels continue to lose ground in the market.
In August, prices in 5 star hotels increased by approximately 9% and in 4 star by 2.5%.
Instead, in 3 star hotel units prices fell by 3.7% and in 2 stars by 7.8%.
Table 24
Average Room Rate (€)
Category
May
Change%
August
Change%
2010
2011
2012
11/10
12/11
2010
2011
2012
11/10
12/11
5*****
108,14
102,61
101,99
-5,11
-0,61
166,00
156,90
170,99
-5,48
8,98
4****
70,06
69,13
70,11
-1,33
1,42
112,65
107,42
110,05
-4,64
2,45
3***
53,49
49,98
49,01
-6,56
-1,93
71,76
69,99
67,40
-2,47
-3,70
2**
44,38
44,67
41,12
0,65
-7,94
59,79
62,67
57,80
4,82
-7,78
1*
41,40
32,96
31,04
-20,39
-5,81
57,94
48,51
47,26
-16,28
-2,57
65,80
65,28
66,02
-0,79
1,14
99,42
100,16
102,13
0,74
1,97
Total hotels
It is obvious that the position of the large luxury hotel units is gradually strengthened since
they can attract valuable foreign customers and on the other hand smaller units of lower
classes suffer because they were oriented to serving Greek customers.
This is a worrying trend that if continued it will alter the traditional physiognomy of Greek
hoteliers, leading to greater concentration in the industry.
In absolute terms, the average room rates in Greek hotels tend to be frozen at the levels
specified in Table 25.
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45
Table 25
Average Room Rate in Hotels by Star Category (€)
Category
May
August
5*****
100 €
170 €
4****
70 €
110 €
3***
50 €
70 €
2**
40 €
60 €
1*
30 €
50 €
Source: Estimates from the Field Research of ITEP, 2012.
Prices in 5 star hotels are set at around 100 euros in May and around 170 euros in August. In
2-star hotels, which constitute the majority of the hotel units, prices tend to be around € 40
in May and 60 euros in August.
These prices are the weighted averages of each category. Therefore, the weight of large
units is very high compared to the small ones. If further studied the distribution of prices, it
shows that 42% of Greek hotels sell their rooms at rates down from 40 euros in May (Table
26). The percentage of hotels that sell rooms less than 60 euros is 73.4%. In contrast, only
7% of Greek hotels sell their rooms over 100 euros in May.
In August the price level is much more improved. Only 7% of hotels have rooms under 40
euros. But there is a large number of units (37.9%) that sell from 40 to 60 euros per room. In
the period of high demand, only 17% of hotels have available rooms over 100 per day.
Table 26
Distribution of Average Room Rate
May2012
Cumulative
Distribution
August2012
%
Cumulative
Hotels
Distribution
Range of Price
%
Hotels
Average Room Rate <40 euro
42,1
42,1
17,0
17,0
Average Room Rate 41-60 euro
31,3
73,4
37,9
54,9
14,2
87,6
17,9
72,8
6,3
93,8
10,3
83,1
3,1
97,0
6,2
89,2
1,2
98,2
4,1
93,4
100,0
6,6
100,0
Average Room Rate >151 euro
1,8
Considering the relative stagnation of prices, the slight improvement in hotel occupancy
rates in August and also the significant retardation in the first months of the year and a
reduction in revenue from events and other similar activities in city hotels, we estimate that
the turnover in Greek hotels will decline in 2012 by about 5%. It is expected to lead to
46
45
improved financial performance at the resort hotels on the islands serving foreign tourists,
but it will be offset by the deterioration of the financial results of the hotels on the mainland
and in the big cities, which are affected by developments in the domestic market.
Small hotel units of low class and rooms to let will suffer the most. If it is taken into account
the over-taxation of the property and the problem of compulsory insurance in the SelfEmployed Insurance Agency, it becomes apparent that there is more risk to the viability of
small family units that composed for years the backbone of Greek hotel industry.
Performance of hotels hosting mostly foreign clients
There is a large difference in performance of the hotels hosting foreigners than those that
serve mainly Greek customers. As it is shown in Table 27, the hotels that cater to the
international tourism market, regardless of their size and class, have much better
performance.
The average revenue per room is inversely proportional to the percentage of foreigners
hosted by each hotel. For units where foreigners are below 20% of all their customers, the
average annual revenue per room stood at 9,885 euros, while in units that serve more than
70% foreigners it reaches 16,290 euros.
The average occupancy rate in May is 30.5% in hotels that foreigners are less than 20% of all
clients and 51.6% in those that the proportion of foreigners exceeds 70%. Something similar
happens in August. The average occupancy rate of units mainly serving foreigners reaches
85.7%, while in the units depending on the domestic market it amounted to 61.7%.
The prices also of the rooms are higher in hotels that attract larger number of foreign
customers.
The most interesting thing is that hotels with more foreign customers achieve greater price
increases in August versus May. The hotels that host mainly Greeks, the average price of 53
euros in May stands at 70 euros in August (24.3% increase). In contrast, hotels that host
mainly foreigners the price of 71.5 euros in May stood at 119.7 euros in August (67.4%
increase).
Table 27
Impact of the Percentage of Foreign Customers on the Performance of Hotels
Basic Tourist Variables
Average Revenue per Room 2011
Occupancy Rate May 2012
Occupancy Rate August 2012
Average Room Rate May 2012
Average Room Rate August 2012
Percentage of Foreign Customers in Hotels
<20%
9.885,61
30,48
61,66
53,08
69,41
21-50%
10.825,18
40,33
65,56
55,04
67,37
51-70%
13.380,90
43,72
68,40
62,19
83,24
>71%
16.292,48
51,67
85,76
71,47
119,70
46
47
Employment
Tourism is the only extrovert activity in the Greek economy that contributes to the creation
of new jobs since 2000. As it is shown by the data in Table 28, during the period of economic
growth that extends until 2008, most new jobs were created in the public sector and in
particular in the areas of the Public Administration, Defense and Education, followed by the
industry trade (retail and wholesale) and the constructions.
The sector of hotels and restaurants created cumulatively 52,700 jobs from 2000 to 2008.
Instead, all the traditional export sectors such as food, clothing and footwear industry,
agriculture, production of tobacco products, chemical industry and transportation,
employed a smaller number of workers in 2008 compared to 2000.
Table 28
Sectors with the largest numbers in job creation and job losses
Country Total 2000 - 2008
Sectors that create more jobs
Sector
Sectors that lose more jobs
Number of
Employed
Sector
Number of
Employed
Construction
88.419
Agriculture – Farming
Retail Trade
87.993
Manufacture of wearing
apparel and fur
-36.472
Public Administration, Defense
& Social Security
80.869
Insurance and pension funds
-14.651
Other Business Activities
80.185
Food & Beverage Industry
-6.672
Education
72.182
Manufacture of tobacco
products
-5.005
Hotels - Restaurants
52.697
Leather Processing
-3.525
Health & Social Care
45.822
Wood Manufacture &
Construction Products
-3.228
Wholesale Trade
35.809
Refined petroleum products
-2.242
Other Services
25.272
Air Transport
-2.055
Real Estate Activities
21.493
Medical Manufacture
-1.980
Total
590.741
Total
-159.900
-270.201
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority. Elaboration by Labor Institute /General Confederation of Workers of Greece.
During the recession from 2008 to date significantly all sectors contributing to employment
in the previous period were affected except for tourism. Overall, the past years 815 000 jobs
were lost in Greece.
Indicatively, the construction industry lost 125,000 jobs the biennium 2009-2010 and the
first quarter of 2011. At the same time 117,000 jobs were lost in manufacturing, while retail
and wholesale trade lost around 61,000 jobs. Due to fiscal policy of the memorandum,
employment will shrink significantly in the public sector of the economy in the near future.
48
47
Table 29
Sectoral changes in the number of persons employed
2008 – 3rd Quarter 2012(in thousands)
rd
SECTOR OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
Activities of extraterritorial organizations
and bodies
2008
3
Quarter
2012
Cumulative
Change
Change%
2012/2008
1,6
1,6
0,0
0,0%
Human health and social work activities
307,1
231,0
296,0
219,9
-11,1
-11,1
-3,6%
-4,8%
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
516,9
491,5
-25,4
-4,9%
Financial and insurance activities
Professional, scientific and technical activities
113,4
244,5
322,3
106,1
223,4
287,6
-7,3
-21,1
-34,7
-6,4%
-8,6%
-10,8%
72,7
78,0
64,8
68,0
-7,9
-10,0
-10,9%
-12,8%
377,4
327,3
-50,1
-13,3%
214,9
185,2
-29,7
-13,8%
32,1
92,0
15,6
27,3
77,6
12,7
-4,8
-14,4
-2,9
-15,0%
-15,7%
-18,6%
834,0
664,6
-169,4
-20,3%
8,6
6,3
-2,3
-26,7%
31,4
22,9
-8,5
-27,1%
58,1
40,6
-17,5
-30,1%
533,7
81,7
386,8
356,9
54,1
204,8
-176,8
-27,6
-182,0
-33,1%
-33,8%
-47,1%
4.553,8
3.739,2
-814,6
-17,9%
Accommodation and food service activities
Education
Administrative and support service activities
Information and communication
Public administration and Defense; Compulsory
social security
Transportation and storage
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply
Other service activities
Mining and quarrying
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor
vehicles and motorcycles
Real estate activities
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and
remediation activities
Arts, entertainment and recreation
Manufacturing
Activities of households as employers
Construction
TOTAL
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority, Labor Force Survey, Elaboration ITEP.
In the field of hotel and restaurant sector, the reduction in employment during the recession
was marginal (-3.6%), since, according to the estimates of the Hellenic Statistical Authority,
from 2008 to date 11,000 jobs were lost. It is reliably estimated that these jobs were lost in
the restaurant business according to the industry unions, because 4,500 small restaurants
and recreation outlets have closed in the cities of the mainland (Chart 21).
48
49
Construction
-6,4%
Manufacturing
Financial and insurance
activities
-4,9%
Wholesale and retail trade;
repair of motor vehicles and
motorcycles
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
-4,8%
Education
Human health and social work
activities
Accommodation and food
service activities
TOTAL
Chart 21
%Change in Employment in Selected Sectors of the Greek Economy
2008 - 2012
0,0%
-5,0%
-3,6%
-10,0%
-10,8%
-15,0%
-20,0%
-25,0%
-17,9%
-20,3%
-30,0%
-35,0%
-40,0%
-33,1%
-45,0%
-50,0%
-47,1%
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority, Labor Force Survey, Elaboration ITEP.
From Chart 21 it is apparent that tourism is the only industry that can currently retain jobs
and create in the short term new jobs in our country.
Employment in Greek hotels.
According to estimates derived from the field research of ITEP, Greek hotels in May 2012
employed 94,360 people and 119,920 in August. These figures result from reduction of
sample data on the total number of rooms. The average employment is weighted according
to the size of unit, the class of the hotel and the region that the hotel is installed.
Compared to 2011, employment in May decreased by 2.3% and in August it increased by
0.8%.
A first interesting observation is that the percentage increase in employment is greater than
the increase in occupancy rate of hotels and this happens in a year where no rise is recorded
in hotel capacity. This should be attributed to the fact that where reduction of the activity is
recorded, employment is decreasing at a much slower pace than occupancy rate. After all,
this was proved by last year's survey. Instead, when occupancy rate is increasing, hotels
employ an additional number of people to serve their customers.
The absolute figures for 2012 are not directly comparable to the figures released in the
report of 2011, as they do not include members of the families occasionally helping in small
hotel units and also the weighting method has been redefined. The average employment is
50
49
weighted by the size of the unit, the class of the hotel and its region.. In the comparative
tables below, the number of employees in 2011 has been reassessed and consequently the
information presented is strictly comparable.
At the regional level, sharp decline in employment has been recorded in areas hosting large
numbers of Greek customers. In contrast, an increase in employment has been observed in
traditional destinations receiving mainly foreign clients. The greatest decrease occurred in
the areas of Epirus - Thessaly -31.5% in May and -21.3% in August. Peloponnese followed,
where employment shrank by 16% and Attica, where there was a decrease of 8.2% in
August.
At this point, it should be noted that employment in hotels in Attica is steadily decreasing
since 2008. The shrinking of the workforce in 2012 is added to an abnormally high
employment drop by 19.4% in 2011. Last year's decline was largely caused by the fact that
several hotels in the city center had ceased operations.
The most significant employment growth between 2011-12 was recorded in the region of
Macedonia -Thrace (11.4%). The previous year this region had reported drop in employment
by 8.56%, due to the negative performance of the city hotels of Thessaloniki in 2011. In fact
this year, employment in the region returned to 2010 levels.
In Crete and the islands of South Aegean employment increased for another year. The
Region of South Aegean is the only region where jobs are steadily increasing from 2008
onwards. The continuous expansion in the number and hence in the capacity of high-class
hotels has contributed decisively to the rise of employment.
Be noted that in 2012 the hotel capacity in the country increased by 3,000 rooms. Most of
this capacity was added to the South Aegean, Crete and Macedonia - Thrace. Without the
additional employment due to the operation of new hotel units, the number of jobs in Greek
hotels would shrink by 1.3% in May, while presenting negative results in August.
For another year continued the trend of concentration of tourism employment in the island
country. In absolute terms the largest number of employees was recorded in the South
Aegean, with hotels employing in August over 30,850 people. Crete follows with 27,570
employees.
In 2008, Crete was the first in employment while in 2012 the South Aegean Region. Attica
instead shrunk its share in total employment. Last year it had been supplanted in absolute
numbers by the Region of Macedonia - Thrace, while this year by the region of the Ionian
Islands.
50
51
Table 30
Estimate of Total Employment in Hotels by Region
Employment.
May 11
Employment.
May 12
Change%
May.12/
May.11
Employment.
Aug.11
Employment.
Aug.12
Change%
Aug.12/
Aug.11
11.027
10.236
-7,2%
11.298
10.374
-8,2%
2.750
2.608
-5,2%
3.584
3.731
4,1%
5.525
3.786
-31,5%
6.207
4.887
-21,3%
MacedoniaThrace
11.597
12.677
9,3%
14.755
16.438
11,4%
Peloponnese
8.813
7.148
-18,9%
11.448
9.613
-16,0%
Ionian Islands
2.516
1.854
-26,3%
3.101
2.818
-9,1%
Cyclades –
Dodecanese
20.453
22.043
7,8%
25.096
27.569
9,9%
Crete
23.060
23.855
3,4%
29.732
30.854
3,8%
Aegean Islands
10.890
10.155
-6,8%
13.867
13.707
-1,2%
COUNTRY TOTAL
96.631
94.361
-2,3%
119.088
119.992
0,8%
REGION
Attica
(excl. islands)
Central Greece
(excl. Attica)
Epirus- Thessaly
15,0%
Chart 22
Evolution of Total Employment in Hotels by Region( May–August)
11,4%
9,3%
10,0%
9,9%
7,8%
4,1%
5,0%
3,8%
3,4%
0,8%
0,0%
-1,2%
-5,0%
-10,0%
-7,2%
-8,2%
-5,2%
-2,3%
-6,8%
-9,1%
-15,0%
-16,0%
-20,0%
-25,0%
-18,9%
-21,3%
-26,3%
-30,0%
-35,0%
-31,5%
May 12/11
August 12/11
52
51
In absolute terms the largest number of employees was recorded in South Aegean, with
hotels in August to employ over 35,700 people, followed by Crete with 30,600 employees.
For the first time the region of Macedonia - Thrace supplanted Attica and moved into third
place.
Employment rate of women and foreign workers in Greek hotels.
According to the data of the survey, the 58% of workers in Greek hotels is women. The
highest proportion of women was recorded in the hotels of the lower categories. In the onestar hotels, throughout the country, the proportion of employed women increased to 68.4%
in May and 71.7% in August. In 2-star hotels the proportion of women increased to 67% in
both May and August. In 3-star hotels it is close to 64%, while in 4 and 5-star hotels it was
shaped lower, near to 53%. Obviously in smaller hotels that are not employing skilled staff
for specific jobs, the proportion of women is greater. In family run hotel units up to 20
rooms the rate is around 70%, while in large units of over 100 rooms the rate is limited to
53%.
Table 31
Employment of Women in Greek Hotels (%)
REGION
5*****
4****
3***
2**
1*
Total
May
12
Aug.
12
May.
12
Aug.
12
May.
12
Auγ.
12
May.
12
Aug.
12
May.
12
Aug.
12
May.
12
Attica
(excl. islands)
43,5
43,8
50,9
51,7
55,1
57,0
61,9
62,5
45,0
45,0
50,8
51,8
Central Greece
(excl. Attica)
62,3
60,0
58,1
63,0
65,4
67,2
55,0
66,5
0,0
0,0
60,5
64,7
Epirus- Thessaly
56,8
58,0
61,3
61,5
52,4
57,0
56,6
55,9
61,5
66,1
56,0
57,9
MacedoniaThrace
53,0
53,5
57,7
57,3
62,6
62,1
65,4
66,7
78,4
77,3
59,9
60,3
Peloponnese
47,7
57,7
60,9
58,7
65,4
64,2
64,4
65,2
58,9
76,0
60,9
62,2
Ionian Islands
51,1
49,1
57,2
58,6
60,1
64,6
61,3
67,2
42,7
54,9
58,1
61,6
Cyclades –
Dodecanese
55,6
55,5
57,9
57,8
64,7
64,3
64,9
66,0
57,6
69,1
59,2
59,5
Crete
47,9
47,9
52,7
53,7
63,0
62,0
67,4
69,1
68,5
69,8
55,9
57,1
Aegean Islands
46,2
48,4
50,4
50,6
52,7
51,6
66,7
68,3
50,0
73,2
54,3
55,2
60,4
64,3
66,1
64,7
69,3
57,0
58,1
COUNTRY
51,1
51,7
55,1
55,4
60,1
TOTAL
Aug.
12
At regional level the lowest proportion of women was recorded in Athens with 51%. Within
the region of Attica, the lowest ratio was recorded in 5-star hotels with 43.5%, while less
than 51% remains the proportion of women in 4-star hotels.
52
53
In contrast, the highest proportion of women was recorded in 1-star hotels in the region of
Macedonia-Thrace, the Ionian Sea and in the Cyclades, where women constitute over 70% of
the workforce in August.
In the lower class hotels on the islands of the country, employees are engaged primarily in
cleaning, in food departments and in the reception. For these jobs, hoteliers prefer to
employ women from the local labor market. In large hotel units where there are more
skilled jobs, the posts are more stable. These posts are often occupied by men, who are not
easily replaced, since they form the core of the human capital of the company. Mechanics,
gardeners, waiters and storekeepers are usually men who work for many years in the same
company.
Chart 23
Employment of Women in hotels by Region (%)
70,0
May 12
20,0
55,2
54,3
55,9
57,1
59,5
59,2
58,1
61,6
62,2
60,9
60,3
59,9
57,9
56,0
50,8
40,0
60,5
51,8
50,0
30,0
August 12
64,7
60,0
10,0
Ionian Islands
Cyclades –
Dodecanese
Crete
Aegean Islands
Peloponnese
Macedonia- Thrace
Epirus- Thessaly
Attica)
0,0
Nevertheless, it is obvious that the hospitality industry offers employment opportunities in
the Greek regions at a time when unemployment affects a large percentage of the female
workforce. Of course, there are indications that women are employed in particular
disciplines and they are not often part of the permanent business staff. This issue should be
addressed in future by providing appropriate incentives.
54
53
Table 32
Employment of Women in Greek hotels by Hotel Size and Region (%)
Aug.
12
Medium-sized
Hotel
(51-100 rooms)
May
Aug.
12
12
May
12
Aug.
12
May
12
Aug.
12
62,96
63,90
52,94
54,61
46,80
47,74
50,81
51,79
79,00
56,10
65,02
57,47
61,15
63,66
60,64
60,53
64,72
59,37
60,03
62,37
64,51
53,03
54,95
49,77
50,50
56,05
57,86
MacedoniaThrace
70,44
71,69
64,76
65,78
59,91
60,47
56,35
55,77
59,89
60,28
Peloponnese
69,99
69,87
66,24
66,18
63,25
65,19
53,00
55,02
60,86
62,17
Ionian Islands
Cyclades –
Dodecanese
26,92
42,56
65,35
68,74
58,50
64,45
54,33
55,10
58,06
61,58
63,42
70,31
63,78
65,65
63,82
62,64
57,29
57,21
59,23
59,54
Crete
70,35
72,73
65,59
66,83
60,35
61,33
51,84
52,35
55,91
57,06
Aegean Islands
72,74
74,28
55,92
60,45
67,66
63,27
48,55
48,73
54,26
55,22
COUNTRY TOTAL
66,53
68,84
63,22
65,32
59,83
60,56
53,25
53,51
57,04
58,08
Family Hotel
(1-20 rooms)
Small Hotel
(21-50 rooms)
May
12
Aug.
21
May
12
50,95
49,31
78,40
Epirus- Thessaly
REGION
Attica
(excl. islands)
Central Greece
(excl. Attica)
Large Hotel
(>101 rooms)
Total
Following the proportion of women, the proportion of foreigners is higher in hotels of
midscale and low categories. Across the country, the largest proportion of foreigners was
recorded in 1-star hotels around 30% and the lowest in 5-star hotels in May (16.4%).
At regional level, the highest proportion of foreign workers was registered in the hotels of
South Aegean 33.14% in August and 31.79% in May. The hotels of Macedonia-Thrace follow,
where the ratio stands at 20%, whereas in Crete it is 19% in August. At the other end are the
hotels in Attica, where employment of foreigners is limited to 16.8%. Especially in the fivestar hotels of Attica, this ratio is around 7%. Across the continent, the proportion of foreign
workers is lower than the average of the country
Another interesting point arising from the evolution of employment is that in 2012 the
number of foreigners working in Greek hotels has considerably shrunk.
In May 2012 the proportion of foreign workers to the total employed fell to 20.48% and to
21.42% in August. Compared to 2011, the number of foreign workers decreased by 7.3% in
May and by 8.4% in August. The largest decrease in employment of foreigners was
registered in hotels of the medium categories on the mainland. Growth rate appears only in
lower class hotels in South Aegean and in Crete. It seems that in the local communities the
reflexes of social solidarity work, meaning that hoteliers tend to support employment of
young people originating from their territory, defying the need to reduce operational costs
in their businesses.
54
55
Table 33
Employment of Foreign Workers in Greek Hotels (%)
REGION
5*****
4****
3***
2**
1*
Total
May
11
Aug.
11
May
11
Aug.
11
May
11
Aug.
11
May
11
Aug.
11
May
11
Aug.
11
May
11
Aug.
11
7,25
7,00
15,08
16,38
21,16
21,63
30,92
30,49
19,00
19,00
16,33
16,84
9,13
9,55
9,42
15,30
14,52
13,52
20,54
18,43
0,00
0,00
14,65
14,61
18,94
15,89
17,59
13,63
8,83
11,19
9,51
14,99
6,25
2,34
11,93
13,00
23,54
24,15
17,96
19,07
11,26
13,46
18,34
20,35
40,53
37,85
18,55
19,91
Peloponnese
8,83
10,16
16,07
15,88
23,04
23,56
12,62
14,95
34,04
12,52
15,97
16,84
Ionian Islands
14,07
18,63
8,54
13,96
17,84
14,13
15,00
12,90
14,58
14,58
14,87
14,54
Cyclades –
Dodecanese
13,66
15,11
17,48
18,84
19,93
18,21
29,46
28,12
25,15
22,79
18,41
18,94
Crete
27,54
32,28
28,55
29,59
38,87
38,73
39,20
37,99
43,00
36,24
31,79
33,14
Aegean
Islands
9,00
12,83
9,31
10,86
13,83
12,50
31,07
31,78
0,00
29,49
15,49
16,71
Country Total
16,40
18,23
20,10
21,28
19,77
19,73
26,63
26,80
32,52
27,21
20,48
21,42
Attica
(excl.
islands)
Central
Greece
(excl.
Attica)
EpirusThessaly
MacedoniaThrace
The ratios do not appear to vary significantly with respect to the size of the units. In small
family businesses (1-20 rooms) the ratio ranges in 28%, in the medium sized 25-27% and in
big hotels 21%. It appears however that the difference is due to the fact that large city hotels
employ fewer foreign workers. This means that the proportion of foreign workers in the
resort hotels is almost similar, regardless of the size of the unit. It should be noted that
tourism activity is offered for the employment of foreign workers around the world. Greece
is not among the countries with a high proportion of foreign employment in this industry
55
56
Chart 24
Employment of Foreigners in Hotels by Region (%)
35,00
33,14
May 12
30,00
August 12
25,00
15,49
16,71
31,79
18,94
18,41
14,54
14,87
16,84
15,97
18,55
13,00
11,93
14,61
14,65
5,00
16,33
10,00
16,84
15,00
19,91
20,00
Ionian Islands
Cyclades –
Dodecanese
Crete
Aegean Islands
Peloponnese
Macedonia- Thrace
Epirus- Thessaly
Attica)
0,00
Indicatively, in Spain immigrants are 53% of total workers in the industry, in Germany 31.0%,
while in countries such as England and Denmark the figure is even higher.
Chart 25
Employment of Foreigners in Hotels in Member States of E.U. (%)
80,0%
75,0%
70,0%
60,0%
53,0%
50,0%
40,0%
31,0%
30,0%
23,5%
20,0%
10,0%
0,0%
Greece
Germany
Spain
U.K.
Note: The percentage of the UK is referring to the employment of foreigners in fast-food companies.
Source: International Labour Organization
56
57
Average employment per hotel unit
In terms of employment per unit, ITEP's research shows that 17.8% of hotel enterprises in
Greece are employing only one person who probably is the owner of the business.
Cumulatively, 50.7% of the Greek hotels in May and 46% in August employ fewer than five
employees. Only 5.2% of Greek hotels employ more than one hundred (100) employees in
the peak season of August. These numbers are not considered small by European standards.
According to data from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the 94% of the 2.7
million tourist enterprises in the EU employs fewer than 10 employees. The average number
of employees per enterprise in the tourism industry is close to 3.5 people, while Greek
hotels during the month of August employ on average 14 persons per unit.
Table 34
Employment per Room in Greek Hotels 2012
Star Category
May
August
5*****
0,51
0,62
4****
0,31
0,38
3***
0,19
0,24
2**
0,13
0,18
1*
0,09
0,13
Employment per room in May is estimated to be around 0.28 and rises to 0.35 in August..
This means that for every 3 new rooms added to the hotel capacity in the country, a new
sustainable job is created. Certainly, employment is higher per room in the hotels of higher
categories. More specifically, in the five-star hotels the average employment per room
stands at 0.8 people, in the four-star hotels to 0.38, in three star hotels to 0.24 and in the
two lower categories to 0.17 employees per room.
In order to investigate and quantify the effect of various characteristics of the hotels
regarding the number of employees in a hotel unit, the study of ITEP has taken into
consideration certain econometric models.
The key findings of the signs and absolute sizes of the estimated coefficients of regressions
are the following:
a. The variable that explains the largest proportion of the variation of employment is
the number of each hotel room that is the size of the unit. The elasticity of
employment was estimated at 0.84. This means that a unit that has 10% more
rooms,it will employ 8.5% more employees than another unit of the same class with
similar technical characteristics.
This practically means that smaller units of the same class contribute
proportionally to the creation of more jobs.
b. The price elasticity of the room regarding employment was estimated at 0.37. This
means that, taking out the effects of other factors, a hotel that charges the room by
58
57
10% more than another one, is employing 3.7% more employees. Therefore the
rising of prices means more jobs.
c. It is noted that the continued operation of the units contributes positively to
employment.
d. The higher- class units employ more workers when the effect of other factors is
isolated
e. The elasticity of employment compared to the occupation rate of the unit (OR) was
estimated very low.
Table 35
Distribution of Employment in Greek Hotels (%)
May
August
Range of
%
Cumulative
%
Cumulative
employed
hotels
Distribution
hotels
Distribution
Up to 1 employee
17,8
17,8
12,6
12,6
2-3 employee
20,2
37,9
18,9
31,5
4-5 employee
12,7
50,7
14,5
46,0
6-7 employee
7,7
58,4
9,4
55,4
8-10 employee
9,3
67,6
9,3
64,7
11-15 employee
8,6
76,3
8,9
73,6
16-25 employee
7,1
83,3
8,6
82,2
26-50 employee
6,0
89,4
6,5
88,7
51-100 employee
6,5
95,9
6,1
94,8
100 + employee
4,1
100,0
5,2
100,0
58
59
Summary.
2012 was a difficult year for the Greek hotel industry. The picture of the performance of
hotels is twofold: the first six months were characterized by decrease or stagnation in the
main tourist figures (employment, occupancy, average room rate), while in the second half
there was a reversal of the climate, with the corresponding figures recording positive
changes. This proves once again the resilience of Greek tourism in economic crises.
More specifically, in May (1.14%) the average room rate recorded a small increase, while
employment and occupancy decreased by 2.3% and 6.2% respectively. In August there was a
marginal increase in the above figures.
The hotels in major urban centers and those hosting large percentage of customers from
domestic market suffered the greatest impact of the ongoing financial crisis in 2012.
However, many of the island destinations of the country were also affected in 2012.
Chart 26
Summary of performance of the hotel industry 2011- 2012
0,8%
Employment
96,631
Employment
119,439
-2,3%
Employment
Change% 2012/11
-2.3%
0,1%
Occupancy Rate
48.3%
Employment
Change% 2012/11
0.8%
-6,2%
Occupancy Rate
Change % 2012/11
-6.2%
Occupancy Rate
77.80%
Occupancy Rate
Change% 2012/11
0.1%
2,0%
Average Room
Rate
65.30 €
MAY 2011
1,14%
Average Room Rate
Change% 2012/11
1.14%
%CHANGE
MAY 2012
Average Room
Rate
100.20 €
AUGUST 2011
Average Room Rate
Change% 2012/11
2%
% CHANGE
AUGUST 2012
59
60
HOTELS
Performance of Greek Tourism
and developments in the basic figures
of the Greek Hotel Market
2011 - 2012
HOTELS
24 Stadiou str, 105 64 Athens
Τ. +30 213 2169900 • F. +30 210 3225 449 • www.grhotels.gr • [email protected]
2013

Performance of Greek Tourism and developments in the basic

Transcription

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