GREECE: German media outlets have concentrated on focusing their articles on southern Europe and Turkey since the fall.
With a vast expanse of land welcoming tourists in the prime of the summer season, Greece has finally returned to being the hotspot summer destination after two years of the pandemic.
Around a quarter of the Greek economy depends on the tourism sector, with one out of every five people working in it.
The advertising companies’ prime area of focus has always been Greece’s low prices and comfortable sunny weather.
During the beginning of the Ukraine war, Russian gas supplies to Europe faced a major setback, augmenting the prices of gas in German houses by 173% compared to a year ago.
Moreover, Germany’s inflation has increased in recent years. To add to this, nothing compares to Greece’s sunny weather, which extends for a total of 250 days as opposed to the chilling winter in Germany.
Vassilis Kikilias, Greek Tourism Minister, has made efforts by visiting important places in Europe like Berlin, Vienna, Paris, and Stockholm to get people to spend more time in Greece.
Katja Haffenrichter-Kritsotakis of the Rethymno Hoteliers Association claimed that this is a futile attempt given the inefficiency of the government in handling the high energy costs in winter, due to which almost all Rethymno hotels will stay closed this year.
In addition to this, there are not enough budget airline services to transport people to the hotspot destinations in Greece.
Turkey
Bentour, a Swiss tour operator, had been targeting tourists in German-speaking countries this winter to see that people had actually preferred going someplace else.
Turkey’s most famous city, Antalya, has been a more popular tourist destination owing to its high flight volume and the low value of the lira.
Bentour’s head, Deniz Ugur, says, “Of course people choose countries where the costs are not so high, and they stay for weeks, sometimes even longer, working from there, so the price is the factor.”
Ugur also mentions that Turkey’s wonderful healthcare facilities attract a lot of retired people.
Canary Island
The Canary Islands, with their convenient location right off the coasts of North Africa, have provided a wonderful spot of respite for tourists.
According to Tourism Minister Yaiza Castilla, travellers over 55 who have more money and time are “a source of prosperity for our country.”
Archipelagos have been a place of interest for digital nomads, and Mexico is set to launch a digital nomad visa this year.
Nelleke Meijer, from the Netherlands, started an online community for digital nomads, local entrepreneurs, and remote workers in Gran Canaria. The group’s Slack channel has a lot of information about tourist activities like housing and hiking.
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