Northern Greece: Overnight stays at campsites in June show positive signs

The messages for the arrival of tourists at the campsites of Northern Greece are optimistic. Three times more overnight stays were registered in June in Alexandroupolis, while a 20% increase was recorded in Pieria, compared to the same period last year. Great interest has also been shown for July, August and especially for September, from countries of Central and Western Europe, with caravan and motorhome dealers having sold out in Germany, as the president of the Panhellenic Camping Union, Antonis Delidimitriou, told the Athenian / Macedonian News Agency.

“We are optimistic, we have several bookings from July 10 to August 25”, said Mr. Delidimitriou and explained: “but what makes the difference this year is September, when there has been great interest mainly from Central and Western Europe. If we have a good pandemic rate, maybe in September we will recover and exceed the 40% to 50% we had last year. Too many campsites did not open last year, nationwide. But this year is different.”

Alexandroupolis: Three times more overnight stays in June

“This June went very well, we have three times more overnight stays than last year,” said campsite owner Vasiliki Papanti to AMNA, clarifying that in the prefecture of Evros there is only one campsite, which is located in Alexandroupolis. “Last month we had mainly Greeks at 90% and tourists from other countries about 10%. Under normal circumstances, half of our customers are Greeks and 50% of the visitors are from the Balkans and tourists from Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and France. “In July and August we believe that we will be much better and that we will cover to a large extent the loss we had last year due to a pandemic”, stressed Ms. Papanti.

She also clarified that “we are not only a tourist destination, but also a passage to Turkey and that is why we are directly affected by the events that are happening in the neighboring country. A 10% percentage of our visitors has been lost, as there is fear due to the pandemic and the way they managed the situation in Turkey did not help. Unfortunately, it kept some tourists away. But this year we will recover. ”

Pieria: 20% increase in stays this year compared to 2020

Vangelis Goularas, owner of a campsite on the beach of Agios Panteleimon in Pieria, last year chose to keep his business closed, but this year he says he is more optimistic. “We have a 20% increase in June compared to last year.

In 2020, out of the ten campsites, half did not work, including ours. This year the indications are different, we have an increasing trend and the traffic has already started to increase in the wider area after the changes we had at the border crossing in Evzoni. From the bookings and the traffic we already have, we expect an increase of about 30% compared to June”, Mr. Goularas told AMNA and underlined that “most tourists come fully vaccinated and there are few with a negative molecular test. We hope that July and August will be two good months for us.”

Halkidiki: The traffic is at the same levels as last year

“The traffic in the campsites of Halkidiki remained at the same levels, although we opened a month earlier”, underlined Antonis Delidimitriou and added that “mainly Greeks and Balkan denizens chose us while all 36 campsites operating in the area were opened, in contrast to last year year when six of them had remained closed “.

Commenting on the situation at the border stations of Evzoni and Promachonas and the changes that took place in the entry controls in the country, he stressed that “although initially there was inconvenience and indignation at the border, for road tourism, now the situation has changed, there are more checkpoints and this has offers relief to tourists from the Balkans.”

As he said, this is a positive step, in the hope that it will bring even more tourists. “The measures that have been taken for those vaccinated are positive. Having privileges will help a lot in the arrival of tourists”, Mr. Delidimitriou noted.

In Northern Greece, campsites are chosen, mainly by Greeks and tourists from the Balkans, for their holidays, with Bulgarians approaching the percentage of the Greeks, as the president of the Panhellenic Camping Association characteristically stated. “Of course we have tourists from other countries, Italians, Germans, Poles, and Czechs in a small percentage that does not exceed 2% to 3% of the total percentage of visitors.”

Caravan and motorhome dealers in Germany sold out

“The road tourist is the one who will shape the situation for campsites”, noted Mr. Delidimitriou, explaining that “all those who want to feel safe in the middle of a pandemic, have their own means and there are very many of these tourists.”

In fact, according to him, the information he has from manufacturers and dealers of caravans and motorhomes in Germany show that they have sold out, with last March and April making the biggest turnovers.

“If in the past one in two had their own means, today two out of two Germans choose to move and stay in their own venue, to avoid the insecurity caused by the pandemic.

In central-western Europe, camping is considered a way of life, visitors want to be in nature and feel different from city life. “The motorhome is a way of life for them”, he underlined.

Northern Greece: 94 campsites, 9,500 places, 36,000 overnight stays

In Northern Greece there are 94 campsites, as mentioned by Mr. Delidimitriou, which are located mainly in Pieria, Kavala, Alexandroupoli, Halkidiki and the prefecture of Thessaloniki. In Eastern Macedonia and Thrace there are only three of them and the remaining 91 are in areas of Pieria, Halkidiki and Asprovalta in the prefecture of Thessaloniki.

“The campsites offer 9,500 places and we can have 36,000 overnight stays, but that’s something that hasn’t happened since the ’80s. In the good times before the pandemic we reached 10,000 overnight stays. In July and August in 2019 we had about 80% fullness and last year it was below 50%. This year we are optimistic. The bookings we have so far, show us that we will have a small increase. “Despite the difficulties, we see that the people with the vaccination feel free and are very happy that the strict measures for the non-spread of the pandemic have ceased to apply”, concluded the president of the Panhellenic Camping Association.