Local hotel rates keep growing

The average price of Greek hotels posted a fresh13.7% annual increase in July, reaching 174 euros from €153 in the same month last year. At the same time, occupancy increased marginally to 82.8%, a level considered as very healthy.

Although rising operating costs for hotels are seen squeezing their profit margins, the overall picture points to a better year for businesses in the sector. Of course, the picture varies from region to region and by hotel category, but also within the same hotel category depending on the popularity of each one. In any case, the increase in the average rate of hotel rooms is significantly higher than inflation, tourism industry sources note. The data comes from the Institute of Tourism Research and Forecasting (ITEP) of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels.

For the capital, based on the data released on Wednesday by the Athens, Attica and Argo...