The tourist season on her island started with better conditions Rhodeswith the hope that this year will also be a dynamic year for tourism.

The tourist season started three weeks earlier than in previous years and is expected to last longer due to regular flights.

“The season will be the same and maybe even better than 2022, which was the best year in the history of Rhodes tourism,” Manolis Markopoulos, president of the Rhodes Hoteliers Association, told APE-MBE.

“The good thing is that everyone is happy and their percentage has increased compared to last year and 2019,” Mr. Markopoulos said.

Which travelers “vote” for Rhodes

As far as the hotel industry is concerned, now that the signing of contracts for 2024 begins, it will need to be able to translate this positive climate into better prices for next year.

“From the available data, besides the fact that the British take the first place, followed by the Germans, it is clear that the Scandinavian market is recovering and it is estimated that if tourists from all the Scandinavian countries are added, then they will be in the first place, a fact that shows that they are gradually returning to Rhodes,” said Mr. Markopoulos.

Also positive are the changes in terms of addressing the shortage of staff in the hotel divisions, which existed in the previous two years. According to the president of the Rhodes Hotel Association, the workers came from other regions of Greece, for whom, in some cases, accommodation was provided by the hotel divisions.

Exciting April

“The season has started off dynamically for Rhodes, with 72 flights scheduled for March bringing around 10,000 visitors to the island, and April is expected to be…exciting,” says Rhodes Deputy Mayor for Tourism Thanasis. Vyrinis.

As he said, “If you consider that we were at 3800 last March, you understand that the momentum has already begun and is increasing.”

However, the vice mayor noted: “I do not hide that the numbers can be favorable, but everyone is concerned about the purchasing power of travelers, because we all experienced a difficult winter in terms of energy, especially northern Europeans, so the tourist product requires special attention. The renewal that we are constantly preaching should also be visible to the visitors.”

Also, according to Mr. Vyrini, after March 26, about 20% of the island’s hotel complexes will open, and by the end of April all hotels will open. “I believe this is a year that everyone agrees will be a heavy burden for the months of April and May – and indeed, the omens say it will be a better April. Therefore, this means that hotels will be opened on time, as well as tourism enterprises,” he said.

During this period, charters arrive less often, as companies also want to fill the planes. Flight frequency is expected to increase after March 26.

7.5% increase in flights

The President of the Union of Tourist Offices of the Dodecanese, Christos Michalakis, gave similar assessments of the season in his statements to the local media, confirming that the messages for 2023 are positive and that everyone is moderately optimistic, stressing that this year we will fluctuate in the numbers of 2022, but it is not impossible that at the end of the season we will also record an increase.

Of course, according to him, we will not have an increase in all markets, as some will remain at the level of last year, some will be better than others, some may have a slight decrease.

Particularly positive is the fact that the air seats that were planned for Rhodes remain, which means that nothing will change in terms of planning. It is noted that the number of flights increased by about 7.5% compared to last year, but even if some changes are made, they will not bring a significant reduction. There is also the possibility of launching larger aircraft depending on the capabilities of each airline.

“The happy fact is that this year we start earlier and that March and April will be better months than last year, while we should not forget about the cruise, which also starts early this year. The four months of June, July, August and September cannot bring more people because we have peaked since last year, although new beds have been added to the market this year,” said Mr Michalakis.