by Athanasios Adamopoulos

 

Santorini broke new records in air travel passenger arrivals in 2022 and it is on course to reach new all-time highs this year.

 

Airport passenger arrivals totaled 811,000 in 2022, up 56% compared with 519,000 in 2019, while direct flights totaled 5,700 in the year. UK tourists accounted for 26% of international arrivals in the Greek island, followed by Italians (24%), French (15%), Germans (8%), Polish and Swiss (3%), while arrivals from the United States also accounted for a big part of arrivals on the island.

 

Santorini hoteliers said 2022 was the most successful tourist season in the history of the island, with very high rates of arrivals and revenue. The Greek island -famous for its breathtaking views and its very high quality services offered to visitors- remains a travel destination also during the winter confirming that it is a year-round destination, a trend showing more dynamism now after the pandemic crisis. Hoteliers said that reservations are up in the first two months of 2023, with occupancy rates reaching 75% in February. Reservations are made primarily from the US market, followed by the most quality markets of UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Australia -with the latest regarded as long-haul markets. Travel executives said the fact that Santorini remained in demand during the winter months was truly remarkable, as this was a phenomenon exclusively related with urban centers. This year's extended tourism trends is also supported by a mild winter prevailng in Greece, with temperatures remaining at very high levels, resembling spring conditions in the country. Executives also said they expected hotel prices to rise in the island in the long-term, following a trend prevailing in other luxury destinations such as Sharm El Seikh in Egypt.

 

Santorini is particularly famous among Chinese tourists and expects tourist arrivals from China to restart more dynamically now that Beijing authorities have lifted travel restrictions related with Covid. The island attracts more than 2.0 million visitors per year.

 

Santorini, officially Thira, is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km southeast from the Greek mainland. It is the largest island of a small circular archipelago, which bears the same name and is the remnant of a caldera. It forms the southernmost member of the Cyclades group of islands. 

 

The island was the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history: the Minoan eruption, which occurred about 3,600 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization. The eruption left a large caldera surrounded by volcanic ash deposits hundreds of metres deep.

 

It is the most active volcanic centre in the South Aegean Volcanic Arc, though what remains today is chiefly a water-filled caldera.