Luxury Bookings Holding Steady in Battered Greek Market
Luxury Bookings Holding Steady in Battered Greek Market
MONTREAL, July 3, 2012 The year over year demand for
Greek villa rentals is holding steady, says the international home
rental specialist Luxury Retreats.
“It’s business as usual for us in terms of reservations at popular
destinations like Santorini and Crete,” says Luxury Retreats CEO Joe
Poulin.
Despite reports of a 15% first quarter drop in tourism revenue by the
Bank of Greece, the number of reservations at the company’s 94 Greek
island villas actually increased by 10% YOY for January-April 2012,
thanks in part to the efforts of local travel partners.
“On the islands, the importance of tourism to the local economy and jobs
cannot be overstated. Our travel partners in Greece remain committed
to providing a premium vacation experience for each and every one of
our guests,” says Poulin.
In a country where tourism represents 16.5% of the GDP, this view is
echoed by officials such as Dr. Andreas Andreadis, President of the
Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE).
“We want to encourage international tourism and assure potential
tourists that there has never been a better time to come to our
country. We are trying to change the way our country and its economy is
run, however, this is not going to affect the quality of a holiday,”
Andreadis recently commented.
While the number of luxury villa bookings has remained unchanged, guests
do seem to be taking greater care with their villa selections, Poulin
revealed.
“Where we have noticed an impact is in our average Greek booking value.
Our most popular villa in Greece this year is among our most affordably
priced,” says Poulin.
In fact the average price of a Luxury Retreats booking in Greece dropped
by over 37% from $13,251 in January-April 2011 to $8,309 for the same
period in 2012.
The true test will be Greece’s peak summer season from July to
September, a period which represented 54% of the country’s
international tourist arrivals in 2011.
Following the June election, a deal was reached between three Greek
political parties to form a new coalition government. It remains to be
seen what impact these election results will have on tourism.
“We will be watching our last-minute bookings closely over the next few
weeks,” says Poulin. “Last-minute travel represents an important
segment of our summer business so these latest developments may have a
favorableimpact.”
Luxury Retreats is an elite villa advisor offering over 2,000 private villas for
short-term vacation rental.
In addition to luxury rentals, since its founding in 1999 the company
has grown to offer elite concierge services, real estate expertise as
well as property management.
SOURCE Luxury Retreats
Luxury Retreats
CONTACT: Katherine Scott
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Tel: 514.393.8844 ext. 336
(North America): 1-877-993-0100 ext. 336