Greek Tourism: Not a bed to spare in Athens hotels

Not a bed to spare in Athens, due to the increased tourist traffic, but the actual data for the hotels of the capital is a little different according to the Hotel Association of Athens Attica Argosaronikos (EXAAA) as the average occupancy in the five months is still far from the levels of 2019 at least and by 4% while the capital is still one of the cheapest in Europe compared to other competitors.

Of course, May this year was better than the corresponding month of 2022 and slightly better than 2019 in terms of occupancy, while the prices per room recorded a double-digit increase. In any case, the forecasts show Athens as a very strong player in the European and international tourism scene for the next few years, according to EXAAA, and the bad words of the destination (infrastructure, “domestic” institutional framework of short-term rental) must be immediately “cured” etc.)

Average occupancy

In particular, the average hotel occupancy in the month of May reached 88.5%, i.e. it improved by 7.9% compared to May 2022. At the five-month level, it did not exceed 68.9% and is (-) 4.0% away from the performance of the corresponding five months of 2019 – a normal year before the pandemic, with which we compare the performance of Athens hotels. More specifically: The average occupancy of May 2023 (88.5%) – which May is traditionally considered a peak month for hotels in Athens – clearly improved compared to May 2022 (82.0%) and moved to similar levels to 2019 (88 .2%). At the 5-month level, the corresponding results for the average occupancy are: 68.9% (2023), 52.5% (2022), 71.8% (2019). That is, there is an increase of 31.3% compared to the corresponding period of 2022, but also a decrease of (-)4.0% compared to the first 5 months of 2019.

Average Daily Rate /ADR and Athens competitors

At the five-month level, there was an increase in the Average Daily Rate/ADR of Athenian hotels by 19.5% compared to 2022 and by 21.4% compared to 2019. More specifically, the average room price in 2023 (5 months), reached 117.36 euros (from 98.21 euros in the corresponding period of 2022 and from 96.70 euros in the first 5 months of 2019). The impetus was clearly given by the prices of the (peak) month of May (154.66 euros in 2023 compared to 125.77 euros in 2022 i.e. an increase of 23.0% and 119.76 euros compared to 2019 i.e. an increase of 29.1%).

At the city-competitor level, however, the five-month 2023 data shows that Athens still lags behind (all) of our competitors and that we have the lowest average room price. For the record, it is noted that the corresponding average room price e.g. in Istanbul it is 134.22 euros (an increase compared to 2019 of the order of 66.8%), in Madrid it is 142.11 euros (an increase compared to 2019 of the order of 28.8%), in Barcelona it is 164.20 euros (an increase compared to 2019 of the order of 22 ,4%), in Rome 203.79 euros (increase compared to 2019 of the order of 43.8%), in Paris 294.02 euros (increase compared to 2019 of the order of 49.8%), etc. etc.

Revenue per Available Room / Rev Par

Clearly, the performance in terms of “revenue per available room/Rev Par” in five months 2023, (= 80.90 euros) is still quite far from the corresponding performance of most foreign cities – competitors of Athens, which almost all scored comparatively with Athens significant increases (e.g. up to 19.7% Barcelona and Madrid, up to 40.0% Istanbul, up to 45.7% Rome, etc.) compared to Athens for which the Rev Par growth did not exceed 16.5%, EXAAA reports. The corresponding revenues for the competitor cities are translated e.g. to 121.51 euros for Barcelona, 139.39 euros for Rome, 214.05 euros for Paris, etc. Even the single exception (i.e. negative sign of Rev Par change rate for the five months) of the city of Munich, corresponds to a Rev Par of 101.93 euros.

EXAAA, on the occasion of the announcement of the new government and the competent Ministers on the issues they are concerned with as a sector, as a destination, wishes good success in their difficult task and suggests the immediate activation and mobilization of every person in charge as well as every mechanism to resolve the issues of the city of Athens, the coastal zone, the Argosaronic islands and wider Attica – as a whole.

We are already going through the (first months of) summer season, it is necessary, emphasizes EXAAA, “to make provision from now” for “housing” at the destination and the smooth transition towards a “healthy” development model of Attica (quantitatively as well as qualitatively) so that we do not find ourselves facing surprises from 2024. Forecasts show Athens as a very strong player in European and international tourism scene for the next few years, however, what is required is that Athens as the capital, ‘flagship’ but also ‘mirror’ of Greece functions well (and) as a 12-month tourist destination (tourist, business, cruise, etc.) with that this requires or entails.

What is still needed are the solutions to the serious issues that EXAAA has repeatedly pointed out (and they concern the new potential of Athens in tourist beds of all types, the nebulous landscape of Short-term Rentals, the general and special infrastructures that must support the tourism product of Athens – such as an international Conference Center capable of hosting, etc.) but also the need for a long-term strategy for the destination with a decades-long horizon – which must be drawn up.

We expect, concludes EXAAA, the cordial cooperation and the enlistment of all those involved at the level of Government, Local Self-Government and professionals of Athens of all branches, in order to move forward together towards a common goal, towards an appropriate and up-to-date institutional framework based on the data of the time, properly supporting Entrepreneurship, Employment, the authentic identity of Greek hospitality and the quality of life in our city.