Accor

I want to start with two revealing, and I would say disturbing - in their combination - set of numbers. The only income that the Municipality of Athens had from tourist activity in 2023 - by all accounts one of the best years for tourism - was just 2,714,664 euros.

The turnover generated by the accommodation of guests in short-term rental accommodation has increased significantly compared to previous years and is now approaching 30% of the turnover made by hotel units.

Small, renovated and special accommodation complexes, also known as boutique hotels, are performing even better than large luxury hotels in terms of the growth rate of their occupancy.

Türkiye's hotel industry continues to grow with new players joining the market, the Hotel Association of Türkiye (TÜROB) has said in a recent report.

The number of chain and group hotels in the country increased from 57 in 2019 to 67 last year, including 46 local and 21 international chains, showed the report.

Three in four Greek hotels belong in lower categories of one to three stars, representing 50% of the country's total capacity in terms of rooms, according to data from the Institute of Tourism Research and Forecasts (ITEP) of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels. 

Revenues from the accommodation tax imposed on hotels, rooms for rent and short-term rentals are increasing, according to the 2024 budget.

A complaint of "anti-Semitism" was filed against Roger Waters in Argentina on Nov. 15 as the former Pink Floyd frontman, on tour, accused "the Israeli lobby" of barring him from hotels in South America.

Waters, just off several concerts in Brazil as part of his "This Is Not a Drill" tour, is scheduled to perform in Montevideo today, followed by Buenos Aires next week.

The real estate sector's prospects appear to be bright, at least for the near future, with prices rising and several important projects taking shape.

The growth of tourism positively impacts hotels. According to consultancy Danos/BNP Paribas, 1,400 new hotel rooms are being built in the Athens area, with another 1,100 being refurbished. And that excludes the Elliniko mega-project.

The average nightly rate for short-term rental accommodation in Greece in July and August stands at 232 euros per night, based on confirmed bookings so far.

There are tens of thousands of vacant jobs in tourist areas in Greece, waiting to be filled. At the same time and due to the pandemic, another problem arose. Hotel workers quit their jobs to find something more stable as the pandemic also affected tourism.