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This summer has been defined as crucial for tourism development in Greece, and it will determine what next season's will be like. The most important sector of the Greek economy is in bloom, but continues to meet the challenges that have to be overcome in order to continue its development in the coming years.

A guarantee for another year, according to euro2day, is the rational solution to the issue concerning hotel prices, proper functioning of the infrastructure (especially during peak time), and expanding the profits from tourism for the whole country.

Meanwhile, the government and businesses are urged to immediately deal with some of the most urgent issues which govern the size of the tourist flow headed to Greece and which will determine the sector trends by the end of the decade.

Price management is the huge "pain in the neck" concerning profits and damage caused by a sudden increase.

Undoubtedly, the big question is price management, since this is still a trap to be avoided by the people providing services to foreign visitors. This issue affects not only hotel owners, but also air and ferry companies, tour managers, restaurateurs, and even the taxi drivers and vendors operating on the beaches.

Excessive or unreasonably high prices may turn into a boomerang for the businessmen because those who are eager to regain lost revenue may actually pay a higher price.

The first studies in that respect have shown an excessive price increase in the most popular tourist destinations such as Santorini and Mykonos, a fact which resulted in the first complaints and which can undermine last year's victory of the hotel sector when the prices were lowered by 35% across the country.

The Five “Admirals” of the Greek Summer

It is impressive that the main tourist areas of the country continuously strengthen their positions and attract all the visitors. Of 15.7 million flight seats booked from abroad to Greece, 10.3 million are just for 3 islands - Crete, Rhodes and Kos.

Of the remaining 5.4 million airline seats, most of them are distributed between Thessaloniki (because of Halkidiki) and Corfu. This means that for the rest of the destinations, there are only 2.3 million seats left, something which indicates a complete imbalance of tourism development in Greece.

Stress Test for Crete and Rhodes

Another "pain in the neck" is infrastructure, mainly in the two “strongest cards” of Greek tourism, Crete and Rhodes. These islands welcome millions of foreigners for several months, and as a result, the infrastructure (airports, hotels, roads, restaurants, beaches), and mainly the employees working there operate at their limit, something which has a negative impact on the services offered.

Indicative of the above is the fact that on 2 August only, the airports in Heraklion and Rhodes will have to receive 162 and 163 flights respectively with about 30,000 foreign visitors for each airport.

On the same day, Kos will receive 86 flights, Corfu – 74 and Hania in Crete – 71.

This Year’s Big Bet are the New Destinations

Based on this picture, one of the biggest challenges this summer is whether the increase of the tourist flow to the country will benefit other areas apart from the popular ones.

The data available so far shows that compared to last year, increase in demand is highest with: Messinia (+122%), Mykonos (+85%), Skiathos (+84%), Kefalonia (+52%), Samos (+51%) and Santorini (+46%).

The Increase of Flight Schedules Brings in More Tourists

In the flight sector, 2014 is the first year when regular flights (51%) outnumber charter ones (49%), something that allows for extending the tourist period and for the arrival of more independent travelers compared to tourist groups.

All this is due to charter reduction and increase of regular flights to main summer destinations such as Heraklion, Rhodes and Kos.

The Big Question is Domestic Tourism: What Will the Greeks Do?

For yet another year,  the Greeks’ desire, and mainly their ability, to book a vacation in tourist destinations, will be questionable. Domestic tourism has collapsed completely in the last few years due to the dramatic reduction in the living standards of the Greeks, something that caused a huge imbalance in the domestic tourism market.

The goal is to create a new stir in the tourist sector because this is the way to support both workers and many small hotels relying mainly on Greek customers.