Airbnb: Mykonos lowers prices to attract tourists

Entrepreneurs in Mykonos are changing course due to the declining popularity of the “Island of the Winds”. Rising prices for restaurants and Airbnb-type accommodations sent a financial shock to tourists, who voted with their wallets.

Gradually, Mykonos is losing momentum gained in recent years as a tourist destination. The first data was below expectations and clearly indicates a decline in both revenues and arrivals. The decrease in the number of tourists is largely due not only to price, but also to the prevailing trend of tourists looking for the so-called “value for money”, i.e. places to visit without emptying your bank account.

Airbnb
Thus, Mykonos enters the “game” of discounts next season, trying to attract tourists by providing financial incentives due to a very difficult tourist season. Business circles of the island in a conversation with the publication FROM note that the “heavy wallets” left Mykonos and … go to Tinos, Syros, Serifos and Sifnos. Or even choose to live in the summer on other popular Greek islands such as Rhodes, Crete and Corfu.

The outrageous housing prices on the cosmopolitan island forced Airbnb owners to cut prices by 20% to 30% due to an unprecedented drop in bookings in May and June. Prices for hotels and villas have been significantly reduced to attract tourists to the island, but this did not help them much.

Whereas last year, advance bookings for July and August for Airbnb villas were around 95%, this year, at the same time, it is at 80%. For example, the cost of six nights in a 190 sq. m with three bedrooms is about 3 thousand euros in July and 4 thousand euros in August. While last year in the same months it reached 3600 and 4800 euros respectively.

See also: Mykonos: 500 euros for a beach chair

According to the Airbnb platform, the average cost of one night in the most popular destinations in Greece and Europe for August shows that Mykonos is much more expensive than its no less famous neighbors. For example, the average price per night in Ibiza is 302 euros, and in Mykonos – 532 euros. The average price per night in Corsica is 158 euros and in Paros it is 261 euros. The average price per night in St. Tropez is 245 euros, while in Paxos it is 410 euros.

According to the Airbnb platform, demand is lower than last year in Mykonos (-15% in July and -9% in August) and Santorini (-3% in July and -6% in August).

arrivals
The number of arrivals at Mykonos airport in May was one of the lowest in the last six years after 2020 and 2021, when restrictive measures were in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. In particular, international passenger traffic in May this year amounted to 67,122 passengers, a decrease of 17.5% compared to 81,323 passengers in the same month of 2022.

The drop is even more significant, reaching 22.6% compared to international traffic in 2019, which amounted to 86,719 passengers. Compared to 2018, the drop is less than 7.7%: in May of this year, the number of international passengers amounted to 72,768 people.

Business owners in Mykonos are so accustomed to having their island as the “center of the universe” that they fail to notice that the number of negative reviews about the island has reached a critical point and is beginning to have a significant impact on tourist arrivals.

Quality of service, prices, criminal stop – these are the factors that business owners in Mykonos will have to solve immediately, otherwise the situation for them may turn into even more significant losses.

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