DPA: German Tourists are Choosing Greece Again this Year

Despite the refugee crisis and tax hikes in Greece, German tourists are opting once again to holiday under the Greek sun, Deutsche Welle said on Monday, citing a report of the German Press Agency (dpa).

According to the dpa, despite “gloomy forecasts” made by Greek tourism  representatives that refer to a dramatic reduction in bookings to Greece this summer due to the refugee crisis and the increase in the value-added tax (VAT) rate at popular Greek tourist destinations, this does not seem to be verified in practice, at least in relation to data provided by German tour operators.

As a representative of the German Travel Association (DRV) informed the dpa, this year’s booking figures to Greece are exceeding those of 2015, which had recorded a record.

According to data from DRV, German travellers are opting this year for the popular tourist destinations of Crete, Rhodes and Corfu. On the other hand, bookings are sluggish to Samos and Kos, mainly due to the massive arrival of refugees and immigrants from Syria and other major trouble spots.

Meanwhile, the German Association for Consumer Research GfK has come to the same conclusions. According to GfK, bookings to Greece in 2016 will rise compared with last year’s summer tourist season, partially due to the decline in demand for Turkey, because of recent terrorist attacks in the country, especially in Istanbul. Last year Turkey had ranked third on the list of favorite destinations of the Germans. The dpa added that bookings to Egypt have also declined, for similar reasons.

On the other hand, according to the dpa, tourist traffic is expected to increase significantly at Spanish and Portuguese destinations.