The main tourist season for 2022 has been completed, (1/5 to 31/10), in Kythera, which gave us very encouraging results and reasonable optimism for the future.
Observing the number of visitors to the island, we see that our initial estimates were fully confirmed, as the best year in absolute numbers since 2014. Specifically, in 2022, 81,672 people visited our island. (2,000+ more than in 2019), with the two main modes of transport (plane and boat). If we add the other means of transport, such as various types of private boats, cruise ships, private planes, etc., the visitors to the island in the first six months of this year's tourist season approach the impressive number of 90,000 for Kythera!
Although there was an initial «numbness» due to the coronavirus at the beginning of the summer, which resulted in a reduction in travel by our expatriates from Australia and America, the final results lived up to our predictions.
This year, our Municipality, having as a weapon its modern tourist website and its main social media, implemented a very successful campaign in many different media. (TV, radio, websites, publications, social media etc.), targeting specific regions in Greece and countries abroad. Millions of people around the world received up-to-date and objective information about Kythera and Antikythera through these activities.
At the same time, we utilized partnerships with government and business entities such as the Ministry of Tourism, the Region of Attica, the Kythera Accommodation Association, the TV channels etc., in order to provide the best possible result for the promotion of Kythera. The printed and electronic material of our Municipality «travelled» through these institutions all over the world, offering the necessary information to the potential visitor of the island.
The tourism industry requires a continuous and arduous struggle in the volatile geopolitical environment of our region and in order to achieve the best possible results, there should be cooperation between institutions and individuals involved in tourism. Once again this year we have observed «professionals» in the tourism sector who before September even started closed their businesses, leaving other professional sectors of tourism exposed and even when this September was probably the best September ever for the island. We hope that this is the last year that this will happen.
The promotional activities that we are preparing for 2023 are many and different as the island now has the ability to accommodate many different categories of visitors, since it offers upgraded services in all sectors and we believe that with the right partnerships there is the possibility that 2023 will be a landmark year in the tourism sector of Kythera. Our goal for Kythera to become a tourist destination for visitors throughout the year remains primary, but of course the tourism entrepreneurs on the island will also play a catalytic role in this.
Our Municipality would like to thank especially the entrepreneurs who chose to operate their businesses until the end of October and is always open to collaborations and proposals concerning the tourism sector from entrepreneurs and individuals.
