A year of excellent performance is expected by the tourism sector for Magnesia and Sporades according to what is recorded until the beginning of February and estimates estimate that the numbers of 2019 can be exceeded.
Those involved in tourism in the region, do not hide that they can not only be optimistic, but also smile, according to the data they have, for all sectors and regions, such as cruise, air arrivals at both airports of Magnesia, and foreign visits to Volos, Pelion and especially the flagship of the region, the Sporades.
Throughout Pelion, the peninsula of Magnesia and Volos, with a total of more than 20,000 beds available, divided in half in hotels and rooms to let, the messages are very positive for 2022, according to George Zafiris, president of the Magnesia Hoteliers, since, as he told APE-MPA, «we are ready to receive many people from both the domestic and international tourist market. We hope that Easter will be a really good Greek Easter, since we expect everything to be free and unconstrained and free from restrictions and fears of the consequences of the pandemic. 2019 seems to be over and the “big boom” will be seen in the summer. We expect - apart from the Greeks - many tourists from the northern Balkans, i.e. Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia, but also Germany, Austria, France and Italy. Israelis are also important, as they love Pelion and the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Volos.
But Magnesia is expecting a lot from the sea this year, since the cruise sector seems to show not just a recovery, after two very bad last years, but an explosive rise that will surpass any previous one.
The president of the Volos Port Authority Vicky Mitrou stressed to APE-MPA that «the cruise in 2022 will probably be the best year for the last 10 years. The port of Volos has already received the first large cruise ship with hundreds of tourists, mainly Americans and British, who we welcomed with joy, showing that Xenios Zeus will always exist in Greece. Visits to archaeological sites in the region, to the villages of Pelion, the traffic in the commercial market of Volos, but also in places of special interest, strengthen the economic data of our region. This year we expect, according to the arrivals declared so far, around 56 to 57 large cruise ships, which may even exceed 60 with last minute arrivals, a fact that gives great optimism.
At Volos airport, in Nea Anchialos, the airlines are already opening their reservations and the regular routes for the tourist season are shown with direct connections from Volos with EasyJet to London, Condor to Munich, EuroWings to Düsseldorf, Transavia to Paris, Austrian Airlines to Vienna, as well as the established Volos-Heraklion route of Sky Express, which recorded high load factors last year, which is expected this year to far exceed the numbers of 2019, according to CAA's Costas Efstathiou and Volos airport manager.
In the Sporades, optimism is not hidden and smiles are wide for this summer, since in the region's flagship, Skiathos, all operators are talking about a summer and revenues better than the 2019 figures.
The president of the Skiathos Hoteliers Association Alekos Efstathiou stressed to APE-MPA that «the British market this year shows a great increase and is recovering at an impressive pace on an island where the British have always been about 45% of visitors and this means a lot for all the Sporades islands. We expect a lot, albeit at a slower pace at the moment, from Italy and Scandinavia who are also our traditional customers, but the Romanian and Serbian markets will also provide increased arrival numbers. From the UK alone we already have over 30 arrivals a week with Jet2 and TUI flights from various UK airports and let's not forget that when Skiathos does well, Skopelos and Alonissos do well too.».
«The tourist product of Skiathos», says Alekos Efstathiou, «in terms of services is increasingly upgraded with luxury accommodation that helps attract tourists with high budgets and more demands. This year, two more large units, of the Derveni Group, with over 200, are added to the island's luxury hotels, while international names are setting foot on the island and opening new luxury hotels such as the Radisson in Kanapitsa. These are moves and investments that raise standards on the island and increase competition. In this competition, the professionals of the industry also play an important role with the smaller hotels that every year upgrade them with renovations of many thousands of euros“.
A major role will be played this year by the transport services to the Sporades, where in addition to the two traditional ships «Protis» and «Skiathos Express», a third large ferry «Sporades Star» will be added, starting from the port of Volos, but connections with Mantoudi in Evia will also be available. During the tourist season there will also be a Sporades-Thessaloniki connection with the large SeaJets high-speed vessels.
