Athens woos tourists in December too
Athens’s popularity as a destination for tourists has grown considerably, with landmark hotels the Grande Bretagne and King George reporting occupancy rates at almost 60 percent in what is shaping up to be their best December in 15 years.
“The Acropolis Museum has added another night to visitors’ stays, and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center one more,” top officials of the Athens hotel market say. They believe that once work on the capital’s seafront proceeds, especially the development of the old airport at Elliniko, the market will expand further.
The Grande Bretagne and King George benefit particularly from US and Arab visitors, not only in winter but year-round.
Lampsa Group, the owner of the Grande Bretagne owner that recently bought the King George from Eurobank for 43 million euros and leased the building which once housed the King’s Palace Hotel on Panepistimiou Street, is expected to end the year with a 20 percent increase in turnover compared to 2016 for all of its hotel complexes in Greece, including that on Rhodes.
