THESSALONIKI, GREECE

Transcription

1 MAY 2011 PRICE 150 MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT THESSALONIKI, GREECE Pavlos Papadimitriou, MBA Senior Associate Adamantia Phoca, MRICS Associate Director HVS ATHENS 10 Panepistimiou Str. 3 rd Floor, Athens, GREECE

2 Characterised as the co capital of Greece, the city of Thessaloniki was a flourishing economic centre in 80s and 90s featuring some of the strongest industrial, manufacturing, and textile firms of Greece. After a decade of general stagnation, Thessaloniki is still one of the most favoured cities in the country and has a great potential to finally win the bet of attracting an increasing amount of international travelers. City Overview Thessaloniki is the second major financial, industrial, commercial and political centre of Greece, situated in the Region of Macedonia on the north of the Greek mainland and features about 2% of total hotel room supply in Greece. The city is considered to be a major transportation hub for the rest of Southeast Europe; its commercial port is also of great importance for Greece and its Balkan hinterland. In 2004 the greater urban zone/area of Thessaloniki had an estimated number of almost 1 million residents. INDICATIVE MAP OF THESSALONIKI Some of the biggest firms, either national or international, feature branch offices or even headquarters in the city; the manufacturing sector established Thessaloniki in the broader Balkan region; the industrial zone of the city is quite vivid hosting major companies with export orientation; numerous administrative and government services together with three major universities of Greece are located here; whereas numerous national and international exhibitions and fairs take place every year. Therefore, the city rightfully caries the honorific title of the "co capital" of Greece, a reference to its historical status as the "co reigning" city of the Byzantine Empire, alongside Istanbul. Demand Generators Thessaloniki is undoubtedly a city that offers its visitors numerous tourist attractions but also some points of business interest varying from: ancient monuments and sites (e.g. the Byzantine walls of the upper city, the Arch and Tomb of Galerius, the ancient market, the Roman Palace an d Hippodrome, the White Tower etc.); museums (e.g. Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum, Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki, State Museum of Contemporary Arts, etc.); MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT THESSALONIKI, GREECE PAGE 2

3 lively neighborhoods (Aristotelous, Ladadika, Nikis Avenue, Ano Poli, Kalamaria, etc.); some of the biggest academic institutions in Greece and several military schools attracting MICE 1 e and SMERF 2 cli ntele; many national sectoral exhibitions, the annual International Trade Fair of Thessaloniki, the International Thessaloniki Film Festival, and the largest bi annual meeting of the Greek Diaspora; many beaches located within a 20 minute drive from the city or at the well known resort of Chalkidiki, several of them awarded with the Blue Flag ecolabel. There are also three marinas within a 100 km radius. Features of the Hotel Market The hotel market in Thessaloniki is characterised by introversion and dependence on the domestic market, very low occupancy shoulder months and minimum possible length of stay. Overall, the room stock offered in the city is in a good state of maintenance. However, the current turmoil has led to strong competition and price pressures. Airport and Seaport Traffic Thessaloniki is served by one airport, the Macedonia International Airport, located 15 kilometres southeast of the city centre, and one seaport, the second largest in Greece, mainly used for cargo transportation but with unexploited potential as a passenger hub. International visitation to Thessaloniki over the past nine years is summarised in Table 1. Airport arrivals include those by international scheduled and charter flights and seaport arrivals refer to passengers disembarked only by commercial ships. Cruises refer to transient cruise travellers (both domestic and international) from the port of Thessaloniki, as well as to those using it as a homeport. It should be mentioned that a significant proportion of airport arrivals comprises of tourists having Chalkidiki as their final destination. Until now the city s hotels have not been able to capture a share of these travellers in order to spend at least one night in Thessaloniki, leaving the opportunity untapped. TABLE 1: INTERNATIONAL ARRIVALS BY AIR AND SEA THESSALONIKI (000S) Year Total Change Airport Change Seaport Change Cruises Change ,130 % 1,011 % 90 % 28 % , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Compound Annual Growth Rate % 0.8 % 9.1 % 6.9 % Source: Civil Aviation Authority, Thessaloniki Port Authority Airport % Share Seaport % Share Cruises % Share 1 MICE: Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events 2 SMERF: Social, Military, Educational, Religious, and Fraternal MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT THESSALONIKI, GREECE PAGE 3

4 The total number of passenger arrivals steadily increased between 2002 and 2008 with a CAGR 3 of 3.3%. During the period , tourist movement in Thessaloniki slowed down due to the economic recession in Greece and the deceleration of the economic activity. Arrivals by air represent the biggest share and traditionally account for over 90% of total arrivals. Thessaloniki airport accepts additional 700, ,000 domestic passengers on an annual basis raising the total number of arrivals by air and sea close to the level of two million. Lately, several low cost carriers but also conventional airlines announced scheduled flights from Thessaloniki to more than ten destinations. Turkish Airlines intends to commence direct flights to Istanbul in spring, Aegean Airlines is planning to offer a code share flight with Aeroflot to Moscow, Ryanair gradually starts to offer flights to eight European destinations, whereas there have been advanced discussions with the low cost carrier Wizzair to service Thessaloniki. During the last nine years, arrivals at the seaport of Thessaloniki dropped significantly only remaining stable between 2006 and Tourist arrivals by cruise ships stagnated between , dropped sharply in 2005 and vigorously increased over the period , due to the utilisation of Thessaloniki as a homeport. However, Greek Law only recently partly lifted maritime cabotage, thus providing an opportunity for Thessaloniki to potentially enlarge its tourism market by promoting its harbour and attracting cruise companies to use it as a homeport. Visitation The number of arrivals at hotel establishments in Thessaloniki over the past eight years is summarised in Graph 1. An average of about 70% of the total hotel arrivals and roomnights in Thessaloniki is of domestic nature. Regarding the primary source countries feeding the international hotel arrivals in Thessaloniki, these are Cyprus and the neighbouring Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey. GRAPH 1: DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL ARRIVALS AT HOTELS THESSALONIKI (000S) 1,200 1,000 Domestic International 800 (000s) * Source: National Statistical Service of Greece *Estimate As illustrated in the table above, the number of total tourist arrivals at hotels experienced significant growth over the period , thereafter remaining relatively stable, achieving a total growth of 24.6% for the period , with a larger gain recorded in the international segment, at 41.4%. 3 CAGR: Compound Annual Growth Rate MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT THESSALONIKI, GREECE PAGE 4

5 The city has a rather typical seasonality pattern of visitation for a city destination: demand starts from relatively low levels in winter; it increases during the first months of the year to reach a peak around April, mainly due to business activity and conferences/congresses organised in the city; it slows down during summer months when resort destinations are more preferable; it peaks again in September, another popular month for conferences/congresses; and it drops quite steeply moving towards the Christmas period. Thessaloniki is an established destination for hosting conferences, meetings and events and MICE clientele comprises a relatively big proportion of total hotel guests in the city. According to industry experts, these last about three to four days. Nonetheless, the big proportion of hotel business stems from corporate travellers staying in the city for one to two days. The overall length of stay in Thessaloniki is two nights on average, mainly driven by the corporate character of travel and the lack of more extended leisure demand. Historical Hotel Performance Data published by the Thessaloniki Hotel Association (THA) reveal that hotel occupancy in Thessaloniki peaked in 2007 reaching 49.5% after an upward trend during the previous years. Since 2008 hotel occupancies record continuous decline from 49.21% in 2008 to 42% in Occupancy levels are Occupancy levels are under pressure both from demand and supply forces. The under pressure both from construction of several new hotels and the oversupply of rooms, especially in the highend spectrum of the market, in disproportion with the falling demand attributed to the forces demand and supply decrease of domestic travel on which Thessaloniki is heavily dependent, has led to relatively low levels of occupancy. In terms of average daily charges, the recent orientation of most accommodation establishments towards the package tour market in order to increase their share, the strong competition between the midscale and luxury segments, and the current downward pressure on prices has led to decreases in the region of 15% 25%. Supply Thessaloniki hotel room stock has shown a significant increase of 20% over the period , mainly due to the entrance of several real estate development companies in the market that intended to diversify their investment portfolio. Table 2 indicates the availability of hotels, rooms, and beds for the city over the past eight years. TABLE 2: EVOLUTION OF HOTEL SUPPLY THESSALONIKI No of Hotels: % Share (2010) 5* Hotels % 4* Hotels % 3* Hotels % Other % Total: % No of Rooms: % Share (2010) 5* Rooms 904 1,257 1,257 1,662 1,618 1,618 1,865 1,865 24% 4* Rooms 1,358 1,473 1,526 1,398 1,442 2,762 1,533 1,565 20% 3* Rooms 1,726 1,894 1,922 2,205 2,215 2,364 2,350 2,359 31% Other 2,278 2,237 2,173 1,966 1,992 2,223 1,977 1,848 24% Total: 6,266 6,861 6,878 7,231 7,267 8,967 7,725 7, % No. of Beds: % Share (2010) 5* Beds 1,625 2,223 2,223 3,019 2,955 2,955 3,420 3,420 24% 4* Beds 2,339 2,598 2,688 2,459 2,523 4,516 2,679 2,750 19% 3* Beds 3,192 3,508 3,558 4,088 4,112 4,444 4,416 4,463 32% Other 4,321 4,258 4,144 3,744 3,796 4,173 3,762 3,506 25% Total: 11,477 12,587 12,613 13,310 13,386 16,088 14,277 14, % Hotel Supply Increase 6.8% 0.0% 2.4% 3.1% 7.6% 0.7% 1.4% Room Supply Increase 9.5% 0.2% 5.1% 0.5% 23.4% 13.9% 1.1% Bed Supply Increase 9.7% 0.2% 5.5% 0.6% 20.2% 11.3% 1.0% Source: Hellenic Chamber of Hotels The upscale (five and four star) room and bed supply represents approximately 45% of the market, greater by 10 percentage points when compared to 2003 MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT THESSALONIKI, GREECE PAGE 5

6 During the period the number of five star hotels almost doubled whereas four star and threestar properties also increased by approximately 65%. Nowadays, the upscale (five and four star) room and bed supply represent approximately 45% of the market, greater when compared to 2003 by 10 percentage points. Nonetheless, the average size of hotel units did not experience major changes. The most significant (through March 2011) changes in the city s hotel market for the last two years are highlighted below: In Autumn 2010, the 80 room four star Galaxias Beach Hotel in the east suburbs of the city was sold for 4.6 million and was renamed to Santa Beach Hotel; In November 2009, the five star, 212 room Met Hotel located at the west entrance of the city commenced operations featuring several food and beverage outlets and extensive meeting and recreation facilities. The hotel is part of Chandris Hotels and a member of Design Hotels and its total construction cost is estimated at 69 million; In October 2009, the historic Excelsior Hotel, located in the centre of Thessaloniki, was relaunched as a member of Macedonian Hotels. Following a 5 million extensive renovation, the hotel now operates as a luxury 36 room boutique property under an affiliation with Small Luxury Hotels; In September 2009, the three star, 97 room Astoria Hotel in Ladadika, close to the city centre reopened after a major refurbishment. The hotel is part of P.A.P. Corp. hotel group and the first Green Key awarded hotel in the city; In September 2008 Hotel Nikopolis Thessaloniki ex Kempinski joined the internationally recognized consortium of Small Luxury Hotels; In March 2008 the full refurbishment of 50 out of the 407 rooms of the four star Capsis Hotel Thessaloniki was completed; In January 2008, Hotel Anatolia, located on the west outskirt of the centre of Thessaloniki, reopened its doors following a reported 3million major refurbishment. The hotel is now repositioned in the four star market featuring 69 rooms. International and Local Brands Greece is undersupplied in terms of branded stock of rooms, whether international or domestic. In 2009, only 4.4% of the country s hotels (controlling 19.2% of the total room capacity) had an affiliation either with a Greek or an international brand 4 and this number is unlikely to have significantly altered since then. This trend clearly reflects the predominant mentality amongst Greek hoteliers which prevents them from giving away the management of their properties. The greater Thessaloniki metropolitan area features only a limited number of international or national brands, including Hyatt Hotels and Resorts (Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki) and IHG Group (Holiday Inn Thessaloniki). The leading local hotel brands that operate units in Thessaloniki are Classical Hotels (Macedonia Palace), Chandris Hotels and Resorts (The Met), Capsis (Capsis Thessaloniki and Bristol), and Electra (Electra Palace Hotel) whereas only four other hotels have joined hotel marketing consortiums (Small Luxury Hotels, According to local hoteliers An affiliation with an international hotel operator does not generally add value yet Design Hotels, Historic Hotels of Europe, etc.). Kempinski Hotels had entered the market in 2003 but pulled out a few years later due to internal disagreements between the owner and the company. Evidently, Thessaloniki features minimal presence of any type of hotel brand or affiliation. According to local hoteliers the main reasons for this phenomenon are: 4 Koutoulas, D. (2009), The 2009 Greek Hotel Branding Report MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT THESSALONIKI, GREECE PAGE 6

7 the unattractiveness of the destination to foreign tourists due to infrastructure deficiencies and low connectivity; the very limited international exposure and low awareness of the city to foreign tourists, other than the neighbouring countries; the city s lack of identity (for example the numerous different names of the destination, such as Salonica, Thessaloniki, Thessalonica e.t.c.) and the absence of a consistent marketing strategy to promote the city s numerous cultural assets and tourist sites; and lastly, the relatively easy attraction of adequate domestic demand during the last few years which did not prompt additional efforts from the hoteliers in order to source new business elsewhere. Moreover, since 70% of the total hotel arrivals so far comprised of domestic travellers, an affiliation with an international hotel operator did not generally add value for any of the parties involved and the possible advantages provided by such partnership could not be leveraged. However, according to our interviews in the market, there is potential to attract more international hotel operators in Thessaloniki since there are several properties that are regarded suitable (in terms of size and location) for rebranding, assuming their owners would be willing to give away the management. The resulting marketing of the destination will trigger increasing international awareness. MICE Demand The existence of convention and congress spaces in a city plays a major role in attracting the MICE segment of tourists. Especially for Thessaloniki, demand in this segment is generated primarily by local, and regional companies holding training sessions, conferences, product launches and small meetings, as well as by exhibitions, incentive, and association meetings held at several venues (e.g. conference centres, meeting facilities in hotels, universities etc.). Moreover, the city was the first one in Greece to establish a Conventions and Visitors Bureau but despite its successful launch, it seized operations in 2009 after failing to merge with the local Tourism Promotion and Marketing Organisation. Thessaloniki is not strongly positioned as a particularly known destination for international MICE business, with the exception of the Balkans. Within the centre of the city lays the Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre spanning across 180,000 m² encompassing in its premises a venue for social events and two additional fully equipped congress centres of a maximum delegate capacity of 2,400 (the largest in Greece) and 720 respectively. Moreover, most of the city s upscale hotels offer numerous meeting and conference spaces, with the largest being able to host up to 2,000 delegates. For 2009, data from the International Congress and Convention Association reveal that Thessaloniki captures approximately 10% of the international MICE business of the country whereas the city is ranked 128 th amongst more than 300 cities in the world regarding popularity in hosting international congresses. Notably, numerous comparable cities (Edinburgh, Tahlin, Krakow, Porto, Belgrade, Nice, Antalya, Basel, Bordeaux, Lausanne), both in size and significance, are ranked above Thessaloniki a fact that reveals the potential of the city in penetrating this specific market segment as long as there is a well organised and coherent effort in promoting the dest ination. Although the MICE segment has always generated a significant proportion of hotel business in Thessaloniki, currently it is slowly but steadily decreasing. The main reason for this recorded trend is the heavy dependence on domestic tourism, which is currently under severe economic pressure, and the lack of promoting strategies to establish Thessaloniki as the reference city of the greater Balkan area for exhibitions and conferences. MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT THESSALONIKI, GREECE PAGE 7

8 Infrastructure Developments During the last decade, major efforts have been made to improve the quality of life of the people living or visiting the greater Thessaloniki area. Major projects started to materialise at a greater pace only during the last five years. Below are some examples of the changes that have already been or are about to get completed. The expansion of the airport runway, in order to service transatlantic flights and enhance the cargo transportation activity, and the renovation of its building facilities are budgeted at a total 246 million and the completion of the works is set until December 2012; Since September 2008, the suburban railway network of Thessaloniki has expanded its services to the major city of Larissa. Currently there are 12 daily trains to each direction shortening the trip duration from more than two hours to one hour and 30 minutes; The first phase of the under construction subway (including 9.6 kilometres of railway and 13 stations) is scheduled to enter service in June 2015 and is budgeted at 1.1 billion. An expansion to the east and west suburbs is planned to include additional ten kilometres of railway with ten stations and four parking centres; The reconstruction of the space of the White Tower and the seaside promenade budgeted at 1.9 million is scheduled to be completed by 2014; The new 37 kilometre ring road is planned to connect Egnatia Motorway with the Thessaloniki Moudania National Road and is expected to serve 80,000 cars on a daily basis; The expansion of the 6th pier of the port of Thessaloniki is planned to be completed in 2015 while the construction of an additional marina within the harbour of Thessaloniki, was officially announced but the development is currently halted; The completion of Egnatia Motorway, a 6 billion major infrastructural development in Northern Greece, will connect the port of Igoumenitsa in Western Greece with the easternmost part of Northern Greece and the borders with Turkey, passing through ten regions (Thessaloniki included) and linking five seaports, six airports, and 11 industrial zones; Infrastructural improvements will upgrade the experience perceived by the city s visitors and will contribute to the strengthening of the city s overall awareness The completion of these projects will improve the daily life of the citizens, it will upgrade the experience perceived by the visitors and will contribute to the strengthening of the city s overall tourism awareness. Nonetheless, Thessaloniki still needs address and find drastic solutions to some of the big issues that all metropolitan cities face, such as limited parking space, waste management, and traffic congestions during peak hours. MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT THESSALONIKI, GREECE PAGE 8

9 SWOT Analysis Instead of an Epilogue Thessaloniki has great potential to become a destination worth visiting either for leisure or business purposes. Major advantages and weak spots of the city, as well as potential opportunities and threats are indentified in the following table. TABLE 3: SWOT ANALYSIS THESSALONIKI Strengths Strategic geographic location close to all Balkan countries and Turkey International airport within close distance Numerous monuments of the ancient and Byzantine era and several museums Vivid nightlife (5th best city in the world for its entertainment in the Lonely Planet list for 2009 ) Destination awareness and historic bonds with other Balkan and Eastern countries Newly built or recently renovated hotel facilities with adequate capacity Presence of many national and international companies Weaknesses Lack of basic metropolitan city infrastructure (subway, modern road network) Incoherent brand name and non established international tourism destination Limited international regular flight connections with major European cities Limited budget for marketing strategy High dependance on the domestic market Present Opportunities Recent attraction of low cost carriers and growing number of flight connections Local authorities dedicated to tourism development Approach and penetration of foreign markets Reactivation of Thessaloniki Tourism Promotion and Marketing Organisation Established annual MICE events to be further developed Partial lift of maritime cabotage Potential infrastructure improvements Threats Domestic economic recession and uncertainty Possible prolonged worldwide financial crisis Delayed completion of infrastructure works Oversupply of rooms in the market Possible hotel foreclosures Future The importance of tourism in the economy of Thessaloniki was recently rediscovered and highlighted. Several actions should be taken in order to promote Thessaloniki as a city break desination and a place for doing business. The list below is in no way exhaustive, but provides an indication of initial steps that can be taken in order for the city to get a place on the world map of tourism destinations. the city needs to obtain central management as a destination, setting specific tourism strategies. Intense efforts should be made from the local authorities towards the branding of the destination avoiding past mistakes (such as using different names for the city); targeted promotional efforts of attracting new international markets and diversifying the potential sources of demand, such as the recent five year Thessaloniki Cultural Crossroads programme developed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism hosting some of the world s greatest cultures; the historic Thessaloniki International Fair Trade should be rejuvenated by being more extrovert and attractive to the surrounding Balkan markets; the Thessaloniki International Cinema Festival and the Cultural Festival of Dimitria (including numerous music, dance, and theatre performances over a three month period during autumn) could be developed and promoted even further in order to attract international visitors and become a point of reference for the entire region; in the field of cruising, investing in infrastructure in the port, attending international exhibitions and incentivising cruise companies to use Thessaloniki as a homeport could help the city grasp the opportunity provided by the recent law partly deregulating cabotage. The above initiatives, if materialised properly and with a long lasting vision to the future, in combination with the opportunities foreseen ahead and the attraction of higher quality tourism, are expected to smooth the city s seasonality pattern, boost the hotels occupancy levels, and, at the same time, help them drive their charges to higher levels. MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT THESSALONIKI, GREECE PAGE 9

10 About HVS HVS is the world s leading consulting and services organization focused on the hotel, restaurant, shared ownership, gaming, and leisure industries. Established in 1980, the company performs more than 2,000 assignments per year for virtually every major industry participant. HVS principals are regarded as the leading professionals in their respective regions of the globe. Through a worldwide network of 30 offices staffed by 400 seasoned industry professionals, HVS provides an unparalleled range of complementary services for the hospitality industry. For further information regarding our expertise and specifics about our services, please visit HVS ATHENS, established in 2006, offers a wide range of expert consulting services for hotels, resorts, serviced apartments and mixed use developments in Southeast Europe. Our office team consists of highly skilled professionals with substantial industry experience who possess significant experience with a large number of major projects in Greece, Balkans, Malta, Cyprus, Georgia, Turkey, and Morocco. HVS Athens performs valuations for mortgage security and transaction purposes, market feasibility studies, market research and demand analyses, as well as operator selection, management contract analysis and negotiation services. About the Authors Pavlos Papadimitriou is a Senior Associate with the Athens Office of HVS specializing in hotel valuation and consultancy. He joined HVS in late 2007 after completing an MBA from Les Roches School of Hotel Management in Switzerland and a BSc in Marketing and Communication from the Athens University of Economics and Business. Since then, he has conducted a number of valuations, feasibility studies, and market research analyses in Greece, Cyprus, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Georgia, and Turkey. Contact him at ppapadimitriou@hvs.com Adamantia Phoca, MRICS, is an Associate Director with the HVS Athens office, having worked for 4 years for HVS London. She has a wide experience in Feasibility Studies, Valuations and Strategic Advice of most types of properties. More recently she has been focusing on hotel and tourismrelated assignments with particular emphasis on the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Adamantia holds an MSc in Land Management from the University of Reading and a BSc in Economics from the Athens University of Economics and Business. Adamantia is also a certified property valuer and a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) since Contact her at aphoca@hvs.com HVS ATHENS 10 Panepistimiou Str. 3 rd Floor, Athens, GREECE