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Refugee Influx Hurts Tourism on Greek Islands

syrian_refugeesThe president of the Lesvos Hoteliers Association Pericles Antoniou sent a letter to interim Finance Minister Giorgos Chouliarakis and Tourism Minister Nikos Christodoulakis describing the damage caused to tourism because of the refugee influx.
In his letter Antoniou stresses that many hotel units will close 30 to 45 days earlier this year, while others that stay open all year long are closing sections and are reducing activities and services. Hotel stays have decreased 30 percent overall.
In addition, Antoniou claims, international airlines and tourist agencies are cancelling flights, while travel agencies are leaving Lesvos out of holiday packages. Specifically, Dutch Sundio has cancelled its third daily charter flight to Lesvos as of July 3, while the other two will stop on October 15 instead of the 29th, while it is uncertain if these flights will be scheduled for 2016.
Dutch Corendon that had three flights for Lesvos per week for 2015, is dividing them now between Lesvos and Turkish destinations. For 2016 it has scheduled two flights per week.
Dutch charter company Τransavia decided to stop flights on October 3 instead of the 29th. British travel agency Thomas Cook continues flights but with many vacant seats, while Swedish Ving has changed their 212-seater planes with others that carry 140 passengers. Tourist agency Brava Suntours of Denmark had two flights per week for Lesvos and now it has reduced them to one.
Regarding cruise ship stops to Lesvos, five stops have been cancelled due to bad conditions on the Mytilene Port, while other cancellations are scheduled for the week after the elections. It is estimated that the island is losing 60 euros per cruise ship visitor.
The Kos Hoteliers Association similarly rings a warning bell. So far, 170,000 cancellations have been registered, with an estimated loss of 7 million euros in turnover. Also, most hotels will close one to three weeks earlier during September and October, reducing employment by about 30 percent.
Furthermore, according to the hoteliers association, many conventions that were scheduled for August and September have been cancelled, while cruiser stops have been reduced. There have also been cancellations for 2016 reservations, while tourist agencies are requesting discounts on existing contracts.

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