Even though airlines have scheduled more seats from the main markets to Greece compared to last year for the rest of the season, bookings have seen a significant decline, at least up until June, official figures have shown.
The war in the Middle East created significant uncertainty between March and June, though there is scope for a recovery through last-minute bookings as the tension appeared to subside.
According to the latest data from the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation (INSETE), the number of airline seats scheduled by carriers for flights to Greece is on a positive course, albeit with a more moderate rate of growth.
July and August confirm Greece’s title as “king” of the season, with 5.6 million and 5.7 million scheduled seats, respectively, registering a 7% increase compared to the corresponding months of last year. However, this is not the case regarding ticket bookings.
Air seats from the United Kingdom for the rest of the summer period amount to approximately 4 million, up 9.6% on an annual basis. Bookings from the same country, however, are down 27% compared to last year. The picture from Germany is similar, with 3.4 million scheduled seats and a 10% increase in availability, but also a 32.4% decrease in bookings. Seats from Italy are up by 9%, reaching around 2 million for the rest of the season; however, bookings are also down 35.6% compared to last year.
