The number of visitors to Athens and the Attica region increased in the period January-May, according to a report on Greek Travel Pages website. Citing figures released by the Athens-Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association, during the January-May 2015 period, the average hotel occupancy in Athens was up by 10 percent and the average room rate rose by 5.3 percent. At the same time, there was a 26 percent increase in arrivals recorded at the Athens International Airport. However, the association said that the arrivals do not reflect the hotel occupancy of Greece’s capital, since a significant percentage of those arrivals “escaped,” implying that the visitors stayed at illegal accommodation units in the city. “Checks must be made to the thousands of accommodation units that operate illegally and constantly absorb market share and demand, while boosting the existing gap in tax revenue and jobs,” the hoteliers association underlined. In regards to prices, the association said that hotels in Athens have maintained a highly competitive pricing policy and thus play a significant role in the destination’s recovery. According to the most recent European Benchmarking figures released by the association, Athens remains the cheapest capital in Europe for tourists.
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