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The vast majority of members of the commercial association in Thessaloniki voted against the possibility of shops in the city working on Sundays throughout the year. The issue was put to the vote that involved 575 association members. It is worth noting that only those retailers who do not owe a membership fee are entitled to vote. Their number is currently 1,480.

In parallel, the new Board of the Association was elected, the vote involving 471 members. By comparison, the voting on the same issue that took place 3 years ago involved 630 people.

Commenting on the low interest in the activities of the association and the elections, its recent chair Costas Hantzaridis noted that "the financial difficulties are leading to receding from it."

However, the municipality leadership has a totally different position. Thessaloniki Mayor Yiannis Boutaris declared his support for increasing the number of Sundays on which the shops are open. In a letter to Deputy Development Minister Gerasimos Yiakoumatos, he urged for adding 5 or 6 Sundays to the 7 Sundays on which the law permits the shops to open.

The mayor proposes, especially for Thessaloniki, that shops open on those Sundays that coincide with major trade shows and similar events held in the city, when the number of visitors is large.

"We believe that the opening hours on Sundays must be regulated from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, as well as to be extended to 7:00 pm during the preceding Saturdays. Employees can have a day off on Mondays," reads the letter by Boutaris.

In it, he strongly opposes the government's intention to transfer the competence for such decisions from local to regional governments.

In a statement for GRReporter a few months ago, Boutaris pointed out that the intention of Thessaloniki municipality is for shops to open during the holidays of neighbouring countries. In his opinion, shopping tourism in the city is doing well and actions should be taken to expand it.