Study: Athens Only City in Europe to See Hospitality Recovery in 2022

Athens will be the only European city to see recovery of its hospitality and entertainment sectors in 2022, according to a study released by research firm Oxford Economics.

The study, which examines the speed of recovery to pre-Covid-19 levels of Europe’s 30 largest cities, found that the Greek capital will be the only city where hospitality, F&B services, arts, recreation entertainment will return to pre-coronavirus crisis levels in 2022 having in turn a positive effect on tourism and the Greek economy.

Comparatively, the report notes that cities overcoming Covid economic repercussions faster, such as Dublin, Bucharest, Oslo and Stockholm, will be seeing these sectors recover after 2024-2025.

Athens, Greece. Photo: GTP

Oxford Economics analysts are also forecasting that Athens’ GDP will grow at a rate of 10 percent over the 2019-2025 period, taking into account the 2020 Covid-19 driven recession.

On the downside, the Greek capital will not be among the European cities returning to pre-pandemic GDP levels in 2021.

Instead, according to Oxford Economics analysts, Athens will recover fully in 2022, with some sectors marking a slower return in 2023.

Study analysts underline however that in order to ensure Athens’ swift and far-reaching recovery, measures will be required. 

According to the study, only seven of the 30 largest cities in Europe will be able to overcome the economic crisis caused by the pandemic in 2021. Dublin, Bucharest, Zurich, Helsinki, Oslo, Stockholm, and Sofia are expected to see GDP growth in 2021 against 2020 recession.

At the same time, world tourist destinations and main Athens rival markets Barcelona and Rome are expected to miss out in 2022.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused GDP in Europe’s largest cities in 2020 to shrink. On average, the top 30 European cities experienced a recession of 6.7 percent last year, approaching European economy recession levels. Birmingham, Barcelona, Madrid, Manchester, and Madrid,  recorded  the deepest recession in 2020.

Athens’ GDP shrank at just under 8 percent and the Greek economy by 8.2 percent.