Thessaloniki Hoteliers in Tight Spot After Lockdown

Thessaloniki hoteliers are between a rock and a hard place after the city went into lockdown as part of Covid-19 management efforts forcing the few remaining tourists to depart.

The northern port city’s tourist professionals are so disheartened by the outlook that they are considering suspending operations of their hotels, according to the Athens News Agency.

“Most hotels in Thessaloniki are considering the temporary suspension of operations as the decision to go into lockdown until November 17, and the ban on travel inside and outside the prefecture makes their operation impossible”, said Andreas Mandrinos, president of the Thessaloniki Hotels Association.

Echoing Mandrinos, Thessaloniki Convention Bureau President Yiannis Aslanis adds that the downward trend was already visible from October 20, but “could have been managed to some extent with domestic travel”.

“But now we’re talking about zero revenue and severe epidemiological data… it makes sense to temporarily suspend the operation of most hotels… especially the large five-star hotels in the city,” he said.

On Monday, the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA) announced a temporary ban on international and domestic passenger flights to and from Thessaloniki International Airport “Makedonia” starting today for a period of two weeks on the back of an announcement that Thessaloniki was going into a 14-day local lockdown due to a spike in Covid-19 incidents.

There are 130 hotels in operation in Thessaloniki.