Of Lemonia Vasvanis
Tourists rate their visit to our city with 7.8 (lowest rating in recent years), as shown by the results of the survey conducted by the Thessaloniki Hotel Association. However, they would recommend it to others and would visit it again in percentages of 92% & 91% respectively.
It is indicative that in 2023 our city was rated for public cleanliness with only 5.4, and there has been a drop in tourist ratings for issues of noise pollution, greenery, condition of roads and transport. The entertainment / recreation and behavior of the residents was highly rated with 8.5.
“Thessaloniki does not follow the growth rate of the country. From the results of this year’s research, the need for an organized plan for its development is even more imperative.” stressed the president of EXTH Mr. Andreas Mandrinos at noon on Monday during the presentation of the 2023 study “Profile & Satisfaction of Tourists – Hotel Performance of Thessaloniki” which took place in a central hotel of our city.
As he said, this year’s research showed that in the year 2023 the hotels of the region maintained their high rating (8.7) both in terms of their facilities and in terms of the relationship between price/quality (8.3). However, the constant satisfaction of visitors with the hotel infrastructure of Thessaloniki – which is being improved and strengthened with new units – was not enough to change the image of the financial data of the hotels, since for another year Thessaloniki remained in the last place in terms of both in the average room price, as well as in the revenue per available room in the benchmarking between our city and ten other European cities of the same size.
He also emphasized that EXTH will give priority in jobs to the former employees of the Nikopolis hotel.
The most important elements of the research were presented by Mr. Stefan Merkenhof Managing Consultant of EXTH. As follows:
-At the airport of Thessaloniki, in 2023 compared to 2019 the international arrivals rose just 0.8%. It should be noted that the connection with the Russian market was interrupted and that in 2021 Ellinair stopped its operation.
-In 2023 compared to 2019, the road arrivals at the entry points of Promachona that connect Thessaloniki with Sofia decreased by 29% and of Evzones that connect it with Skopje decreased by 5%. However, in this particular period the overnight stays of Romanians and Bulgarians increased.
-Also, overnight stays in Thessaloniki hotels remained stable, with a 1% decrease in overnight stays by foreigners and a 1% increase by Greeks,
-In 2023, the overnight mix of the main foreign markets remained stable compared to 2015. On the one hand, the Russian market was lost, on the other hand, the share of visitors from the USA increased.
-Comparing 2023 to 2019, occupancy decreased by 4.2%and at the same time the hotel capacity of the Regional Unit of Thessaloniki increased by 4 units and 285 rooms, an increase of 1.4% and 3.5% respectively.
-At the same time, in an environment of high inflation and rising operating costs, the Average Room Rate increased by 25%.
-Guest satisfaction saw a further decline in almost all indicators. Only some indicators remained stable, while none of them improved during the period 2015 – 2023. The city’s overall visitor experience rating dropped from 8.1 in 2019, to 7.9 in 2022 and to 7.8 in 2023. However, more than 90% of hotel guests would recommend Thessaloniki and visit it again. The score for hotels and value for money remained stable compared to 2022 at 8.7 and 8.3 respectively,
-The short-term rental market, which remains largely unregulated and affects the local community, reached 3,600 units in the Municipality of Thessaloniki, while hotel rooms amount to 4,800.
-The positive is that the cruise sector developed from just 6 cruise ship arrivals in 2019 to 68 in 2023 with 4,865 and 60,900 cruise passengers respectively.
-In the period 2015-2023, the number of 4 & 5 star hotels increased by 75% and 62% respectively, while the number of rooms increased by 43% and 32% respectively. The number of 1 & 2 star hotels is constantly decreasing.
As pointed out “in terms of infrastructure, Thessaloniki remains “behind”. Some key infrastructure projects have not started or are in the planning stage or are in progress, such as the state of the road borders, access to and from the airport, the redevelopment of the Thessaloniki International Fair, the waterfront and parking areas, while the work on the flyover project has been temporarily suspended by the CoE. However, on the other hand, if at some point all major infrastructure projects are delivered, if at the end of 2024 the 13 metro stations are operational, if the Municipality of Thessaloniki actually delivers the projects needed for safety, cleanliness, the quality of sidewalks & roads , greenery and parking, Thessaloniki will become a truly attractive city for its residents and visitors and will be able to attract new markets and tourists with the support of a new strategic plan that will involve all stakeholders.”
What will the municipal authority do and how will OTTH help?
The mayor of our city, Mr. Stelios Angeloudis, mentioned the steps that will be taken by the municipality to make Thessaloniki more attractive for tourists and better for its citizens. As he said, “from the very first days, the new municipal authority has opened up all issues, aims to restore the public space” and will start a process to join the cleaning fleet with washing machines that will sweep the entire city and wash the bins. The mayor spoke about the benches and the checks that are already being carried out, while he also referred to green issues, stressing that improvement interventions will be made in squares.
Refreshments in Aristotelous, Diikitirio Square and Eleftherias Square
In particular, he spoke about her walking tour of Hagia Sophia saying that “the funding for the matter from the Green Fund is to be approved”.
He said that in the next period it will be finalized by the competent services if the project will be done with full pedestrianization at the site or if it will be a pedestrian-redevelopment with mild traffic intervention.
He also spoke to reconstruction of Aristotelous Square and Diikitiriou Square. He also said about Freedom Square with funding of 9 million euros, and assured that the parking spaces that existed there will be replaced by new ones that will be created in the port.
And he underlined that “Thessaloniki in the next five years will have the opportunity to be a city that will have embraced its historic center through a major regeneration intervention”.
Changes to the OTTH
Regarding the Thessaloniki Tourism Organization, of which he is the president, he said that his statutes will be changed and we will expand its purpose, as well as the participation of agency representatives in it. As he said, the city chambers have already been invited to participate in the organization with their regular members.
He explained how the strategic plan for the city will be updated and an action plan will be made for the obligations. “From the end of the year we will know what we have to do and how. If, for example, we have to distribute pretzels and raisin bread, we will do it, or if we don’t,” he noted. He also said that Thessaloniki will have a festival approach every month that will also bring tourism, as will be done now with the “Devotional week”. In this context, he noted that the mayor of Sofia will come to our city next Thursday to discuss the operation of a tourist forum with capitals of the Balkan countries.
Finally, the mayor said that in the municipal council a new cleanliness regulation will be passed with fines for bulky ones.
“Tourism is a driver of development and touches many objects. With our individual behavior but also with the cooperation of the city’s agencies, we can make a change”, emphasized YMATH Mr. Stathis Konstantinidis.
That nothing can be done without cooperation and that a “holistic approach for our country” is needed. the Deputy Regional Governor of Tourism of the Central Macedonia Region, Ms. Vicky Hatzivasiliou, was mentioned. She emphasized that initially the citizens themselves must be happy so that later the visitors can also come. He finally focused on cruise tourism saying that the most important thing is to make the city home porting.
For the effort that our city goes to the Markets with Easter In Thessaloniki (Easter in Thessaloniki) through the liturgical week” was mentioned the deputy mayor of Culture and Tourism Mr. Vassilis Gakis. “We will start to strengthen pilgrimage tourism in order to build a database so that from January ’25 we can go to the Agora with Easter in Thessaloniki”, he said.
A similar effort will be made for Christmas with the aim of attracting tourists to our city ahead of that celebration.
“Tourism is synergies and improves infrastructure,” he said the vice-president of the Union of Hoteliers of Pieria, Mr. Tsitlakidis, while Grigoris Tassios from the Halkidiki Hotel Association he said that “we can join forces to have more tourists”.
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Tags: Thessaloniki Tourists rate dark spots
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