(Source: http://nevedomim.ru.com)

The volume of Greek hotel rooms pre-booked by tour operators from Russia and other CIS countries decreased by 30%, but from Ukraine by 70%. Such data was presented by organizers of Greek-Russian Tourism Forum, which takes place in Athens.

According to tour operators, it is mainly related to the depreciation of the ruble and other currencies against the euro. It will be a tough year, but it is hoped that the situation will improve during the tourist season, market players believe.

Greek businessmen suppose that according to the yearly results, the flow of Russian tourists dropped no more than by 10-15%. "We expect this decline not only for the Russian market, but across the Russian-speaking market. We had 17% increase in late January and 58% slump in late February. The situation slightly improved in March and we had a reduction of about 30%, the head of the Greek office of Le Grand Group, Fotula Sapunaki says. – Now we are watching the situation every day. It all depends on tourists’ mental attitude. We believe, if nothing tragic will happen, everything will be reparable. Last year Greece was visited by 1.35 million Russian and about 240 thousand Ukrainian tourists. Besides, about 260,000 Russian and 40,000 Ukrainian tourists visited Greece through Le Grand and Labyrinth Tours, which are the organizers of the forum.

According to preliminary data, the number of tours to Greece booked in Russia decreased by 15-25%, but travel agencies experience the biggest issues with Ukraine. "We are not so bad with reservations from Russia, but, unfortunately, we have very serious problems with Ukraine and other Russian-speaking countries. There are very serious delays in reservations in Ukraine: a 70% decline. Things are much better with Russia. But if we add up all together, then we would obtain such data (from minus 30 to minus 50%, as Greek media reports," Mrs. Sapunaki said.