Hotel losses in Greece caused by the collapse of the Thomas Cook travel conglomerate are estimated to 315 million euros, the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels announced on Tuesday.
The Chamber presented the results of a survey conducted by Greece’s Research Institute for Tourism (ITEP) for the period September 24-27 of hotels which had accommodations agreements with Thomas Cook.
The survey showed that from a total of 9,917 hotels operating in Greece, 1,193 had contracts with the Thomas Cook Group, representing twelve percent of the hotel capacity of the entire country.
Almost half of those hotels, 48 percent, were establishments having 1-, 2- and 3-star rankings.
The survey said that the negative impact was not restricted only to claims for 2019 – which can no longer be covered – but noted that estimated losses of arrivals and stayovers because of the collapse of the UK tour operator in 2020 will reach 1.0 billion euros.
The Greek economy in general could possibly experience losses which could reach 2.5 billion euros next year.
Alexandros Vasilikos, president of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, stated during yesterday’s news conference that the Chamber was examining a package of measures aimed to support employment, liquidity and the viability of hotel units.
He also underscored the need to create a large alliance between the government, tourism authorities, regional authorities, and other agencies and enterprises to promote the country and to implement alternative synergies as the economy faces the risk of losses worth 2.5 billion euros next year.
“Extending the tourism season and attracting visitors with higher incomes are urgent targets for the tourism industry,” Vasilikos noted.
Source: AMNA
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