“Battle” for autumn travelers

Big discounts are offered by Airlines In ticket prices with the aim of attracting the fall-winter wave of travelers. Similar offers have preceded and shortly before summer arrives, with air carriers also interested in … reluctant. For example, this past May, the Aegeanwhich occupies the largest share in the Greek air transport market, has tickets at a discount of up to 30% to 135 foreign destinations of its network.

Now with just over a month to fall, the discounts For bookings in the four months of September-December double.

In particular, the Aegean Sea offers, until Wednesday, July 26, a 30% discount on all international destinations for flights from September 1 to December 15. Thus, on the Athens-Paris route, a ticket to the French capital on Friday 8 September costs from 193 euros, with the return fare, on Thursday 14 September, starting at 90 euros.

With another discount offer, which expired a few days ago, the carrier had flights starting at 24 euros on the local network, as long as they were made between September 1 and the end of March 2024.

Tickets from €29 to Greek destinations for the post-summer period.

However, continuing until September 4 for flights from Athens to Sitia in Crete and Skyros, the southernmost island of the northern Sporades, Aegean offers tickets from 29 euros, investing in the spatial expansion of the Greek tourist product. This is because popular tourist destinations, such as Mykonos and Santorini, are saturated.

Airlines that have a smaller market share, eg Sky Express. The airline is offering up to 40% off flights from September 4 to December 20 to about 40 of its destinations (excluding sponsored barriers).

Market agents report that there is a large section of the population who, due to professional obligations or choice, postpone their summer holidays to September. Some even choose destinations like Stockholm or Oslo to avoid the high temperatures of the European south. The return flight Athens – Stockholm with the Aegean Sea for the period from 19 to 27 August will cost around 500 € in total.

At the same time, with an eye toward attracting last-minute travelers, there are foreign airlines offering discount fares. Thus, the Irish cost is low Ryanair Tickets from 25 € to Milan and Bologna, 30 € to Budapest and Rome (Fiumicino), 52 € to Katowice (Poland) and from 60 € to London.

For example, a Ryanair flight to London and Stansted Airport costs €100 on Thursday 10 August, with a return ticket costing €117, provided passengers have a small piece of luggage that fits under the seat. Without baggage, Hungary’s Wizz Air offers a return ticket to London for €135, of which €35 is equivalent to a flight to the British capital.

Increased travel expenses for Greeks

A significant increase was recorded in 2022, on an annual basis, in the number of Greek tourists, overnight stays and, accordingly, travel expenses, according to the results of the survey of qualitative characteristics of tourist countries conducted by the Greek Statistical Authority (ELSTAT). Last year, compared to 2021, people of all ages who took at least one trip increased by 11% to 4.8 million trips, while the number of trips also increased by 30.2% to 8.3 million. These people accounted for 68.6 million overnight stays and spent €3 billion, with the two figures increasing by 14.3% and 53.5%, respectively. according to ELSTAT, 96% of “travel holidays” relate to trips made for personal reasons (rest, recreation – vacations, visiting relatives and friends, for other personal reasons). The remaining percentage (4%) corresponds to trips made for commercial reasons. With regard to the length of stay for personal trips, the largest increase was observed, in absolute terms, in the number of trips lasting from 4 to 7 nights, by 39.5% for trips and 39.2% for overnight stays. Most of the personal trips were made by land transport (4.4 million) and, secondly, by sea (1.3 million), with the first trip increasing by 18.7% compared to 2021.