TUI Expects its Tourism Numbers in Greece to Grow Up to 13% in 2023

Leisure travel giant TUI Group expects its tourism numbers in Greece to reach pre-pandemic 2019 levels by the end of the summer and further grow up to 13 percent in 2023.

“We are optimistic that by the end of the summer Greece’s market will almost reach the numbers of 2019,” TUI Group Head of Purchasing Greece & Cyprus Ioannis Kouloumbis said during a panel discussion at the 1st International Business and Hospitality Conference held in Athens on Monday.

“As for 2023, we are planning an increase of 10-13 percent,” he added.

It is reminded that TUI Group earlier this year said it was aiming to double the number of customers to Greece in 2022 compared to 2021 to some 3 million travelers.

Bookings picking up pace

TUI’s positive predictions for 2022 were announced earlier in May by the group’s CEO Fritz Joussen, who said he was expecting to see the sector recoup 80 percent of pre-pandemic 2019 levels this year or even reach 100 percent, globally.

Joussen made the forecast in a LiveChat to his team noting that strong performance during Easter indicated that despite the Russia-Ukraine war, demand for travel was high.

He also confirmed that bookings were picking up significantly worldwide.

Referring to Greece, Ioannis Kouloumbis said on Monday that part of this year’s bookings concerned trips that were postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

He also said that despite the instability that occurred after the Russian invasion on Ukraine and the significant drop of bookings during March, the desire of people to travel after two years of Covid-19 has helped the travel industry overcome the problems.

“We are optimistic that by the end of the summer we will have reached the [tourism] numbers of 2019, in Greece,” he added.

The 1st International Business and Hospitality Conference was organized by Liquid Media and Insider.