Q4 2012 Greek Hospitality Industry Performance

International tourism arrivals stabilise at resorts, but sharp drop for Athens and domestic travel

• International tourism arrivals in Greece fell by 3.3% in 2012 compared to 2011. However, this masks substantial differences between Athens (-11.1%) and the rest of Greece which stabilised (-0.8%); given the tough socioeconomic climate in the critical months –from a tourism perspective- of spring and summer, this signifies the strength of the Greek tourism product.
• However, domestic air travel in Greece has shrunk by 23% between 2009 and 2012, as a result of slashed travel budgets by Greek businesses and households due to the recession.
• Performance of Resort hotels was on par with 2011 as TRevPAR increased marginally by 1.1% in 2012. On the other hand, Athens clearly suffered in 2012 with a further decline of RevPAR by ~20%, mainly due to the drop of domestic tourism and the decline of the MICE sector as a result of negative images of riots and protests as well as of economic uncertainty.
• Regarding competitors, which also suffered from social unrest and recession, Madrid also showed a decline of 5.6% in RevPAR in 2012, while Rome had a similar performance as 2011 with a small increase of 1% in RevPAR in 2012 compared to 2011.

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