By L. Karageorgos
Hotel stayovers in the greater Athens area fell over the first eight-month period of the year, compared to the same period last year, even as international arrivals at the Athens International Airport (AIA) posted record results.
The drop was confirmed by the H1 results announced by three out of four listed hotel operators on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), which reported lower stays in the face of a 4.32-percent increase in international arrivals at Athens' Eleftherios Venizelos Airport.
According to data released by the GBR Consulting firm and commissioned by the hotel federation that represents units in the greater Athens area and adjoining Saronic Gulf isles, the Jan-Aug 2016 period witnessed a drop in overnight stays by 1.1 percent. The figure for international arrivals at Athens’ airport during the same period was up 6.4 percent, yoy.
The negative trend was partially offset by the fact that the average room rate increased by 4.2 percent, to stand at 94.78 euros per overnight stay; and up 3 percent, to 72.43 euros, for available rooms.
A slight improvement was recorded in July and August 2016, where overnight stays increased by 1 and 0.3 percent, respectively, in comparison to the same period last year. Nevertheless, even the slightly improved figures lagged far behind the increase in tourists arriving in Greece via the Athens airport.
