Eighteen hotels in Athens city centre closed last year, while hotel capacity was reduced by three thousand beds during the same period.
“The city surrendered unconditionally to crime, and terrified tourists abandon it” said the president of Hotel Chamber Giorgos Tsakiris at a press conference, attended by the Mayor of Athens Giorgos Kaminis.
Recently, the Mayor asked Prime Minister Lucas Papademos to prepare a multi-bill to “save” Athens. “I could not stand to read customer comments talking about a good hotel in the heart of a miserable city”, Angelos Douros told Capital.gr.
An amount of €3 million was invested in Jason Prime in 2003 ahead of the Olympic Games, and 25 people were employed. However, closing was inevitable as it is located in the heart of Omonia Square, a neighborhood that has surrendered to foreign gangs.
The place is considered a forbidden zone for tourists. Several agencies suggest tourists to avoid visiting the city centre especially at night.
Athens was an attractive destination with 8.5 million bed occupancies in 1991, but now is considered a “forbidden city”, with the corresponding figure in 2009 falling to 3.9 million, said Yiannis Retsos, president of Attica Hoteliers.
Mayor Kaminis spoke of “ghettoization” of city centre, which has been deserted by both entrepreneurs and households. He said he discussed with the Prime Minister the preparation of a multi-bill to protect Athens.
He also noted that households and businesses abandoning Athens centre has caused a sharp decline in the revenue of the municipality, which owes millions of euro to suppliers. “We try to keep the city lit up at night, while we owe millions of euros to lamp suppliers”, he stated.
(source: capital)
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