Greece's tourism industry is experiencing one its worst seasons to date. The industry suffered a massive decline in the first five months of 2012, so much so that tourist arrivals have dropped almost 50 percent in various areas around the country while some of the hardest hit areas include Athens, the northern Aegean islands and the Peloponnese.
According to a report by the Institute for Tourism Research and Forecasts for Greece's Hotel Chamber, the sector's indicators declined further in April and May relative to the first quarter of the year. It noted that the biggest decline was in tourist arrivals to the islands of the northern Aegean (or some 50 percent) and the Peloponnese (approximately 40 percent). Luckily the reduction was smaller for hotels on the island of Crete (10 percent).
The report stressed that political uncertainty, especially after the May 6 elections affected the overall results, which will see the tourism revenues decline because there is not enough time for the climate to improve. Foreign tourists have also been affected by negative press speculating Greece's exit from the euro, with the greatest fall in advance bookings in the Pelopponese, central Greece, Attica and the Cyclades islands. The reduction in these areas is around 40 percent, while northern Greece and Thessaly show reductions of 25 percent, Crete 20 percent and the Dodecanese islands 15 percent.
It was also announced that bookings fell by at least 10 percent in 2012 and revenue by 15-20 percent, with hotels in Athens hardest hit. It is also suspected that the sharp fall in domestic tourism was another major factor for this decline.