At high occupancy, it will work for hotels during the Christmas and New Year period, although it is still too early to fix exact booking details.

What is certain is that the Christmas period for destinations that have theme parks such as Drama and Trikala will be very busy, as the President of the Panhellenic Federation of Hoteliers Grigoris Tassios APE-MPE confirms, speaking of a very strong fortnight.

The coupon to be issued for winter tourism will also help in this development, Mr. Tassios adds. In any case, Mr. Tassios is worried about the post-holiday period, as he points out that the next holiday season will be in March, with all the implications for the viability of the hotel divisions.

“At the end of 2022, we have a very good year that seems to be approaching the numbers of 2019, but we have a very difficult winter ahead of us, as 1,500 hospitality businesses are looking forward to the next day, especially those operating in the mountain range and in mainland Greece”, write it down.

Similarly, President of the Drama Hotel Association Angelos Kallias and XEE member emphasizes that the Oneiroupoli drama will be filmed in its entirety over Christmas and New Year, however, what will happen after January 15th is of great concern.

However, with regard to Drama and the region as a whole, the search for accommodation has begun since the beginning of autumn, which shows the importance of theme parks in Greek winter destinations.

Peloponnese: “Traditional” Destinations Taygetos and Parnonas

Starting in Athens, for yet another festive period, automotive destinations will be the main protagonists, despite the “stingy” price of gasoline, according to Dimitris Pollalis, president of the Laconia Hotel Association at APE-MPE.

The Peloponnese will of course also get its share of the winter season this year. The wider area of ​​Monemvasia will move at a very high load as there are significant pre-orders. Occupancy is expected to exceed 90% in Arcadia, mountainous Corinthia and other mountainous areas, Mr. Pollalis points out.

Taygetos and Parnonas are traditionally full, reports Mr. Pollalis and estimates that this year the occupancy of these destinations will eventually reach 100%. In any case, an accurate assessment of hotel occupancy will be available after December 10th.

Epirus: with high occupancy, it awaits the holiday season

Epirus, which has managed to achieve a very satisfactory level of tourism in its mountainous mass, expects a high-occupancy holiday season throughout the summer and until mid-November.

As the regional governor of Epirus, Alexandros Kachrimanis, noted, Epirus has managed to highlight its diversity by combining mountain, sea and city holidays, opening up new markets and investing in all thematic forms of tourism.

“After covid, we have recovered while at the same time upgrading and offering even better services and quality housing,” he said.

Ioannina: high occupancy in Zagori since mid-June

Ioannina continues to receive visitors at this time of the year due to school trips and conferences. In Zagori, from mid-June onwards, occupancy rates were extremely high, with Israelis holding the highest percentage.

“Until mid-November, the Israelis continued to arrive, and the hostel was full of Greeks and foreigners. Now there is a “belly”, but this is normal for the season, and during the holidays it is predicted that the accommodation will be fully booked again,” said Elsa Exarchu, tourism development adviser for the Epirus region.

Olympus: Optimism for tourism development

There is optimism in the Olympus region of Pieria, and everything shows that the holidays are strongly stimulating the market and the tourist flow, says Hoteliers President Iraklis Tsitlakidis.

“However, the holidays are not enough for the business to be sustainable. There are destinations in Pieria that have traffic all year round, but there are others, mostly in winter, such as Elatochori. Employment is currently hovering around 60%, but it is still early and will definitely rise. The truth is that in addition to the pandemic, the energy crisis and inflation have created a big problem, especially in domestic tourism, which is also our main supplier during the winter. However, social tourism vouchers and programs provide an important breathing space and we hope that things will improve even more as we are an attractive location in the middle of mainland Greece with easy access,” said Mr. Tsitlakidis.

East Macedonia: with a good load for Christmas

The region of East Macedonia and Thrace, which is investing in 12 months of tourism, is moving towards Christmas with strong steps and a good load, according to PAM-TH tourism adviser Athanasios Tsonis.

“After a very successful summer season, continuing the actions dictated by our strategic planning for the development of the entire region, we are seeing a response and interest from the world and winter. Now both Alexandroupolis and Kavala have become city getaways and have very high occupancy rates, while Xanthi is of great interest to visitors, offering winter destinations and nature excursions like Drama and Komotini. At the same time, in addition to the Oniroupoli theme park, we see a related initiative to create a theme park (Pinocchio Park) in Komotini, as well as the creation of a Christmas village in Soufli and other places. Thus, it is important to strengthen the work of the region, which has invested very dynamically in tourism, and the results are already evident,” Mr. Tsonis stressed.

Increased tourist interest in Larissa

In the next period, a resumption of the flow of tourists and an increase in the number of visitors throughout Thessaly is expected.

As Irini Papaioannu, president of the Larissa Hoteliers Union, explained to APE-MBE, “There is an obvious trend of increasing tourist flow, which is revealed in the interest of people to visit the prefecture of Larissa in the run-up to Christmas.”

He also said that “compared to previous years, when we were during the pandemic, with known measures, this year there are several advance bookings in Larisa hotels, which indicates the interest of tourists in visiting the city.” .

“It is true that Larisa has a cosmopolitan flair that makes it an essential destination for anyone who wants to get to know and visit the rest of Thessaly during the holiday season,” said Ms. Papaioannou, adding: “This year we have significant growth hotel booking trend, which shows that the interest in our area is great. However, it is necessary to increase extraversion so that Larisa can highlight all the advantages that she has.

At the same time, Ms. Papaioannou noted that the Larissa region should highlight all aspects of cultural, entertainment and artistic creativity with greater intensity, noting that the city has all the elements that can positively place it on the tourist map. At the same time, he said that a new dialogue should be started in order to find all the necessary tools to promote all its benefits.

It is worth noting that from next week and specifically from December 9, Larisa is preparing to “put on all the best”, as she officially enters into a festive mood with the opening of the “Park of Desires” by the municipality of Larisa. This is a 64-acre theme park that is expected to host a large number of people and action-packed events inspired by the Christmas atmosphere.