Greek hoteliers are counting on last minute reservations for the coming tourist season, after the first pessimistic signs from the main source markets for Greek tourism. Pre-reservations from German tourists are down by 10%, while from British tourists are down by 5%, following last year's downtrend.
It should be noted that the new fiscal and taxation measures recently announced by the government will play a major negative role in the performance of the tourism sector this year, mostly the two point increase in VAT.
Tax revenue from tourism services will decrease significantly, say members of the tourism industry, since the VAT increase will result in a major drop in demand. Domestic tourism will also receive a major blow, since the new measures include a 30% decrease in the Easter, Christmas and vacation benefits received by state and public utilities employees, and as a result, many hotels will not operate in the coming Easter vacations due to the low demand.
