Earlier than any other year, the tourist season started in Crete and the industry bodies on the island are rightly talking about a year that will move at a record pace, surpassing the tourist figures of 2022 and also of 2019. According to the president of the Hoteliers’ Union of Heraklion, Nikos Chalkiadakis, by March 31, 74 flights from abroad will have landed at Nikos Kazantzakis airport in Heraklion, with an occupancy rate of approximately 70%.
Tourism in Crete is revving up
It is characteristic, however, that Chania also started the new tourist season strongly, since as reflected in Insete’s statistical tool, the Recovery Tracker, the scheduled air seats for I. Daskalogiannis airport for the period from 3/20 to 3/26 amount to 32,676 seats. They are visitors from Denmark, the majority of them, but also from Sweden and Spain. At this moment in time, 35% of the hotel units have opened their gates in Crete in order to welcome the first customers, while shortly before Easter it is estimated that all the hotels on the island will be open. April Fool’s Day is, moreover, the date on which, not only in Crete, but also throughout Greece, the hotel industry kicks off the new tourist year, with most Resorts starting activities.
It is also recalled that the revenues of the Region of Crete from tourism in 2021 represented 23% (3.058 billion euros) of the country’s total revenues, while the direct contribution of tourism to the Region’s GDP amounted to 33%, according to relevant data . In terms of the number of employed people, in the Region of Crete in the period 2015-2019, there was an increase of 21% (from 209,000 in 2015 to 253,000 in 2019). Individually, all categories saw an increase: other industries (22%, from 174,000 in 2015 to 213,000 in 2019), catering (4%, from 20,000 in 2015 to 21,000 in 2019) and accommodation (27%, from 15,000 in 2015 to 19,000). in 2019). In the period 2019-2021, the employed in the Region of Crete decreased by 9% (from 253,000 in 2019 to 231,000 in 2021).
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