Greece is expected to become the main destination for travelers from Balkan countries, with the number of road arrivals from these countries increasing by 40% compared to 2022.
According to Tourism Media and Events, the Balkan market, consisting mainly of Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia, will be able to visit the Mediterranean country after almost three years of inactivity due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The Balkan countries are the main and only ones to visit Greece via road tourism, the recovery of which has been slow in recent years, especially compared to air transport which was quick to reach previous levels. the pandemic in 2022 alone.
Additionally, 2.4 million visitors reached Greece by road between January and June 2022, almost half (41.3%) of the four million recorded during the same period at pre-pandemic levels, this which represents 1.7 million fewer arrivals.
Between January and November 2022, Greece welcomed 7.6 million visitors by road, 35.7% fewer visitors than in 2019, when 11.8 million travelers were recorded in the country.
The Road Show events, which collected feedback from all three Balkan countries, reveal that demand for Greece this summer is high and even airlines from Serbia and Romania are working to increase flights and establish flight schedules to this Mediterranean country.
The World Travel and Tourism Commission (WTTC) has awarded Greece the title of 2021 Tourism Champion, with the authority highly commending the successful and efficient manner in which the Mediterranean country has managed the COVID-19 pandemic and has tried to maintain its tourism rates.
Following this event, Greece named best tourist destination for 2023 at the Grand Travel Awards in Norway, where Greek authorities announced plans to welcome more Norwegian tourists.
“What characteristic makes our country attractive to Norwegians? Is it only the sea and the sun, the sandy beaches, the gastronomy, nature, culture and the scattered monuments and archaeological sites that transform the country into an “open-air museum”? said Pavlos Mourmas, head of the Scandinavia and Baltic States branch of the GNTO.
Likewise, Greek Tourism Minister Vasilis Kikilias noted that his country expects a robust tourism season in 2023, with more than a million American tourists potentially visiting Greece, as both countries have established direct airlines, facilitating transportation to these foreign markets.
According to Kikilias, Greece remains 1.9 percent behind pre-pandemic levels in terms of tourist arrivals, while in January 2023, 1.45 million passengers were recorded in the country , which is 87.2 percent more than in 2022 and 5 percent more than in 2019. , while no travel restrictions related to COVID-19 have been imposed.