Greece's economic woes have led to a surge in bookings for its main islands as holidaymakers try to grab bargain breaks, one agency claimed this week.
Directline Holidays said bookings for Corfu were up 21% in recent weeks while Rhodes has attracted a 5% increase.
Bookings for Cyprus were up 28% in July, although Majorca remains the favourite destination, closely followed by Dalaman in Turkey and Tenerife in third place, said Directline.
CEO, Maria Whiteman said: "The increased popularity of the Greek islands is due to recent economic events enabling competitive pricing."
Message posted by Greece girlie on 22 August 2011 at 11:22pm - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
Greece girlie
Greece as a whole is up and Corfu is looking good wish there were more ops in the south though ...love the house SpearTravels :-)
Message posted by Wynne on 23 August 2011 at 2:11am - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
Perhaps I'm being cynical but this looks like a press release from a travel agent looking for free publicity. What does it actually say? Its bookings for Corfu are up 21 percent from when? Last year? Last month? Last week? Of course no one can question it because they are their own figures. It's hardly going to say its bookings are down now is it?
Message posted by trisa on 23 August 2011 at 7:56am - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
I was thinking the same Wynne. We have lived here for quite some time now and just by observing the roads, the tavernas and the beaches, numbers here are quite obviously drastically down on previous years. Taverna owners are saying the same thing.
Each resort we have visited this year has been very quiet. Posts on this forum have also said the same for other areas.
I have no idea how the figure of 21% is arrived at but I find it hard to believe.
Trisa
Message posted by janmanessi on 23 August 2011 at 10:59am - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
The original post did say 'in recent weeks' and Corfu seems certainly busier this week than at the same time in previous years- when everything seemed to have started quieting down even from the 20th August!
Message posted by trisa on 23 August 2011 at 11:16am - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
The post did say recent weeks Jan but I honestly think it is blindingly obvious that it is so much more quiet than in previous years. Up here there has been an instant drop of cars parked in Acharavi since last weekend. This makes it a very short season as June and the beginning of July were also pretty quiet.
To go into what we consider to be the best beachside taverna for fresh food in Acharavi on a Sunday lunchtime in August and finding it half empty, as was the beach, was a shock. In previous years we have had to reserve a table there to be sure of getting one at this time of the year.
Trisa
Message posted by dennys on 23 August 2011 at 11:29am - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
Maybe it is different nearer town, certainly Benitses, which was empty until at least mid July, is still extremely busy (to my surprise) and a friend's hotel is getting daily enquiries for rooms from people driving here- a few years ago who would have thought they would be housing Albanian, Serbian, Macedonian, and Saudi Arabian tourists (the last, poor guy, is trying to get home with his car but all ferries in east Med. cancelled due to Syrian crisis, except to Haifa, where for obvious reasons he cannot land!) in addition to the usual Greeks and Italians.
I know these bookings would not be contributing to the statistics in the original post but I am finding the new international mix fascinating- and encouraging for the future too!
Agree though totally with Trisa, the season has become terribly truncated. It used to start at the end of March, get busy after 15th May, start tailing off in mid September an finish at beginning of November- and we felt so sorry for Halkidiki which then had a 6 week season! Even that would be good now!
Message posted by Wynne on 23 August 2011 at 11:51am - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
I hope things are looking up. That would be great news. I was merely pointing out that this 21 percent 'in recent weeks' is meaningless for the overall picture. Is it 21 percent up from last year or 21 percent up from the worst scenario 'in recent weeks'? The precise '21' is there to give it a spurious accuracy and to ensure it is picked up by the media. I suspect 21 is the highest figure they could come up with using the worst week for their bookings for comparison.
If people's evidence on the ground is that things are improving then that's good, but don't place too much credence on a press release issued by someone with a vested interest.
Message posted by SpearTravels on 23 August 2011 at 1:49pm - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
I agree that being 'up 21%' depends on the starting point, i.e. up to £1,210 from £1,000 wouldn't be much but all I was trying to do was to post a little bit of good news.
Message posted by Wynne on 23 August 2011 at 4:41pm - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
Interesting to hear people's views on the changing 'balance' of tourism. We went to Skiathos in July and the majority of tourists were Greek with Scandinavians representing the largest group of non-Greeks. We enjoyed it. Though there were British accents they didn't dominate. In Corfu the last time we visited there seemed to be a lot more East European visitors. They kept pretty much to themselves and we rarely saw them in any of the local restaurants. How do people 'on the ground' see things changing?
Message posted by Bob and Wendy (Uncle Bob) on 23 August 2011 at 4:42pm - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
Bob and Wendy
I don't know how relevant it is, but when we passed through Ipsos and Dassia a couple of weeks ago both places were heaving with people, haven't seen either place that busy for years.
By the same token Sidari looked empty when we drove through there.
Acharavi seems about the same as last year.
Not very scientific I know, but just my impression.
Bob
If you wish to post a reply to this thread you must first Login
If you are not already registered you must first register
All Rights Reserved. No part of the Corfu Travel Guide web site may be reproduced without permission.
Infringement will be pursued.
The Corfu Travel
Guide and Lefkada Travel Guides are brought to you by Agni Travel.
Agni Travel is the sister company of Taverna Agni and also the sponsor of the Agni Animal Welfare Fund
Topic:
