Greek and foreign tourists limit visits to taverns during holidays in 2023

Greek and foreign tourists during their summer holidays limited their visits to taverns and restaurants, preferring to cook in places of residence or, instead of a full meal, chose something “in haste” when visiting catering establishments. The reason is high prices.

Although the latest data ELSTAT For the second quarter of 2023, which also includes the first month of summer, show a 9.1% increase in catering turnover, industry experts note that consumer spending in tourist places was moderate this summer.

As Mr. Yiannis Papadopoulos, Regional Governor of the Panhellenic Federation of Restaurants and Allied Professions of the South Aegean, recently noted on CNN Greece, drop in turnover catering in the region this summer, compared with last year, is estimated at about 20%.

He even noted that the decrease in consumption is much higher if we take into account the fact that, compared to 2022, prices in catalogs are 18% -20% higher, due to a 47% increase in operating costs of enterprises.

A similar picture is being painted by specialists at other popular destinations in the country, noting that consumers on vacation this year made smaller bills at restaurants compared to previous years, and many preferred to shop at the supermarket to prepare meals if the accommodation had the appropriate equipment.

Based on the picture above, the increase in turnover recorded in the official ELSTAT data for the catering sector appears to be largely due to higher prices compared to last year.

However, it is worth noting the negative sign of 4.9% recorded in the second quarter of the year in Mykonos, one of the most popular tourist destinations, while the Kea/Kythnos regional bloc also showed a drop of 5%. Other regions of the country showed growth compared to last year.

In Attica, turnover growth compared to the second quarter of 2022 was 8.1%. However, as noted CNN Greece professionals of the capital’s catering, their stores – with the exception of the historical center of Athens due to tourist traffic and some coastal areas – were filled only on weekends.

In Thessaloniki, on the contrary, a slight increase in turnover was recorded – 1.8%.

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