Thessaloniki Rising as Choice Tourist Destination

Andreas Mandrinos, Secretary General, Thessaloniki Hotels Association; Konstantinos Tornivoukas, Vice President; Aristotle Thomopoulos, President; Stefan Merkenhof, Managing Consultant, GBR Consulting

Thessaloniki is winning over the crowds thanks to the experiences it offers, hotel satisfaction and consistency in its services, according to a survey presented by the Thessaloniki Hotels Association and GBR Consulting at the Holiday Inn Thessaloniki this week.

Aristotelous Square,Thessaloniki. Photo © Aggelos Ekonomou

According to the study carried out for the sixth year running, 96 percent of Greek and foreign travelers return to Thessaloniki for business or pleasure and are satisfied with the services offered at hotels. THA president Aristotle Thomopoulos said this was a ”basis for optimism’’.

Of those surveyed, 97 percent said they would recommend Thessaloniki for work, pleasure or conference events. Travelers to the northern port city are mainly from Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, representing 23 percent of all overnight stays in the city’s hotels.

Issues that need improvement according to those surveyed were cleanliness, noise pollution, safety, public transport and sidewalks.

”Thessaloniki’s hotel sector has remained steady over the last decade in terms of number of units. However, with increasing demand, occupancy levels also increased, reaching the levels of Düsseldorf and Cologne. Despite this trend however, the average room rate remained low,’’ said Stefan Merkenhof, managing consultant GBR.