Gloomy prospects for tourism

Following the year-on-year drop in travel receipts over the first seven months of 2016 and the expected decline of 25 percent in hotel enterprises' net results, there are ominous signs for the industry next year too, according to Greek hoteliers.

Yiannis Retsos, the president of the Hellenic Hotel Federation and vice president of the Association of Hellenic Tourism Enterprises (SETE), warned on Wednesday that unless a series of key issues are resolved, the sector will be destined for further hardship in 2017 too. The main threat to the country's image in the international markets remains the handling of the refugee and migrant crisis.

Retsos also expressed concern about the future of tourism investments in the country, branding the Investment Incentives Law as "anti-investment" for the hotel sector. He further referred to the fresh blow small hotels will suffer when...