Thessaloniki: No vacancies for Intl’ Fair period

High occupancies and almost no empty rooms for the period of operation of the 86th Thessaloniki International Fair-TIF, is the picture in the city’s hotels, even now, according to the president of the Hotel Association of Thessaloniki, Andreas Mandrinos.

As Mr. Mandrinos said in his interview on “Agency 104.9Fm”, hotels are recording particularly high occupancy for the period 10 – 18 September, given that there are pre-bookings in the city for the next month by visitors as well as those who are continuing their summer vacation.

“The TIF season will be good, as will the whole of September. There are already pre-bookings, not only for the duration of the Fair, but also from people who are still on vacation. In the city’s hotels, occupancy rates are particularly high and there are very few empty rooms,” said Mr. Mandrinos.

He added, however, that “the city has the beds to cover visitors. There are accommodations as well as short term rentals that will cater for all guests. No one will be left without accommodation. However, occupancy in hotels is very high. And if someone doesn’t find a room in a central location, they will stay on the outskirts of Thessaloniki.”

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Optimistic messages

Mr. Mandrinos said that until the beginning of October, the messages are optimistic about the tourist traffic, while expressing anxiety about what will happen in the period from November to March due to the increase in energy costs.

Regarding the summer months, the president of the Thessaloniki Hoteliers Union underlined that the city “moved much better than the previous years of the pandemic, but we did not manage to reach the levels of 2019. The messages are positive, as there was initially fear due to the war. Thessaloniki managed to get a serious share mainly from road tourism, because after the corona virus we have reduced air connections”.

“The data of all Greek airports show a positive sign compared to 2019, but Thessaloniki does not. There is less demand. Words are easy, but the numbers show the reality”, said Mr. Mandrinos, stressing that Thessaloniki “must raise thebar and receive visitors with greater financial means”.