DEFINITION - OBJECTIVE Currently, the indicator records the areas of tourist interest in Zone II (prefectures crossed by the Egnatia motorway) that are accessible via an interchange of the axis and their distance (or their time distance) from the interchange. Moreover the indicator defines the changes of the tourist attendance in these areas (when published official statistic data are available). RESULTS ASSESSMENT At this stage the processing of the indicator presents a review of the tourist attendance in Impact Zone IV of the Egnatia Motorway, which consists of 5 Regions: (Epirus, West Macedonia, Central Macedonia, East Macedonia & Thrace and Thessalia) and the 25 Prefectures of these Regions. The primary data come from the Greek National Statistics Service Agency (ESYE) and are in regard to: The arrivals of foreigners in Greece based on the means of transport and the customs offices, The arrivals and the overnight stops at collective tourist accommodation establishments. The accommodation capacity, and finally The number of visitors to museums and archaeological sites. The zone of Regions crossed by Egnatia Motorway covers about 25% of the arrivals and 16% of the overnight stops of the total of Greece. Dominant within the zone are the Prefectures of Thessaloniki, Chalkidiki, Magnesia, Kavala and Pieria. Generally it has been observed that during the decade 1996-2005 that the number of tourist accommodation establishments in the impact zone of Egnatia Motorway has increased by a percentage much higher than the respective percentage of Greece (45.7% versus 14.2%). During this period the Region of West Macedonia has doubled its accommodation capacity (96% increase, with the Prefectures of Grevena and Kastoria having the highest increase). There has been a great increase of the accommodation capacity in the Region of Central Macedonia (61.2% mainly in the Prefecture of Chalkidiki) and in Epirus (57.1% mainly in the Prefecture of Ioannina). The observed
increase in the accommodation occupancy in many Prefectures of the Zone at an average rate of 8.3% is characteristic. The Prefectures that presented the highest increase are: Trikala, Grevena, Preveza, Ioannina and Florina, having a change rate from 12% to 26% for the time period of 2004-2005. During the same time, at regional level, an increase is noted in all Regions of the Zone, with Epirus having the higher increase (9.6%). ARRIVALS OF FOREIGNERS IN GREECE PER MEAN OF TRANSPORTATION AND ENTRANCE IN IMPACT ZONE IV OF THE EGNATIA MOTORWAY 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 AIR ARRIVALS Alexandroupoli 840 2,868 80 0 2 0 107 1,531 2,590 Thessaloniki 570,234 580,656 558,005 635,522 563,572 552,836 554,334 602,202 596,509 Ioannina 122 9 10 409 165 54 11 136 2 Kavala 73,413 80,702 76,673 53,440 17,718 73,995 34,866 101,343 92,248 Preveza 98,998 106,976 127,054 113,988 146,453 137,842 144,466 139,641 122,433 Impact Zone IV 743,607 771,211 761,822 803,359 727,910 764,727 733,784 844,853 813,782 Greece 7,693,607 8,147,921 8,645,841 9,961,836 10,454,089 10,841,059 10,437,910 10,417,072 9,973,822 RAIL ARRIVALS Dikaia 1,098 2,180 899 10 20 4,474 7,257 3,394 4,141 Idomeni 19,542 29,593 25,490 5,623 18,343 17,098 19,465 25,900 24,113 Promachonas 1,252 1,186 690 32,378 43,924 59,180 54,040 60,036 59,983 Pythiou 6,171 3,793 4,627 797 1,682 5,318 8,492 5,232 3,369 Ν. Kafkasou 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 Greece 28,063 36,752 31,706 38,808 63,969 86,070 89,254 94,561 91,612 COASTAL ARRIVALS Igoumenitsa 50,904 110,258 119,407 178,358 152,041 120,304 140,689 128,939 116,413 Thessaloniki 22,124 20,436 23,513 23,078 28,703 30,489 30,658 26,178 26,985 Impact Zone IV 73,028 130,694 142,920 201,436 180,744 150,793 171,347 155,117 143,398 Greece 585445 565706 834,516 797,106 836,010 808,165 797,017 1,444,954 1,510,004 ROAD ARRIVALS Doirani 44,898 59,844 18,841 16,298 40,346 63,826 90,334 118,145 72,286 Euzonoi 249,463 510,334 339,664 185,894 411,168 479,978 545,664 599,173 538,056 Kakkavia 146,868 204,057 386,658 424,448 407,472 563,536 719,897 617,934 699,152 Kastania 2,200 1,562 7,088 4,596 633 10,679 19,153 16,335 22,170 Kipoi 97,879 65,752 98,022 142,576 148,351 182,692 236,254 165,762 138,351 Krystalopigi 40,564 63,874 144,692 184,133 237,205 313,350 439,265 417,116 404,701 Niki 15,765 92,119 55,410 70,022 113,473 103,027 130,399 124,366 138,584 Ormenio 19,963 25,261 21,532 2,002 1,920 61,598 81,594 68,534 94,744 Promachonos 326,941 297,143 332,076 336,369 380,909 543,351 593,258 698,808 583,938 Greece 944,541 1,319,946 1,403,983 1,366,338 1,741,477 2,322,037 2,855,818 2,827,973 2,691,982 Source: National Statistics Service Agency, 07/2006 Regarding the foreigners road arrivals, it should be firstly noted that all of them take place within Impact Zone IV of the Egnatia Motorway and are connected, if not directly serviced as in Kipoi, Evros, via the Motorway. So, an increase is observed in the four main northern gates of Greece (Evzonoi, Kakavia, Krystallopigi, Promachonas), whereas the rest present no increase. More specifically for the period of 1996 to 2004, the border station of Kakavia presents the higher average rate of arrivals in the country (23.9%), followed by Promachonas (23.4%), the border station of Evzonoi (22.1%), the border station of Krystallopigi (12.9%) and the border station of Kipoi (7.3%). The other border stations that presented increased rates are: Niki in 2
the Prefecture of Florina (4.8%), Doirani in the Prefecture of Kilkis (3%) and Ormenio and Kastanies in the Prefecture of Evros (2.1% and 0.5% respectively). It should be noted that the above arrivals do not pertain strictly to the tourist movement, but mostly to movements due to business (economic immigrants, businessmen, e.t.c.). All the road border stations, besides Kipoi where a decrease of 7% is noted, present an increased rate of arrivals in the period of 2000 to 2004. The most impressive increases are noted in the border stations of Ormenio (384%) and Kastanies (286%) in the Prefecture of Evros, highlighting the importance of the vertical to Egnatia Motorway axis of Ardanio-Ormenio. During the same period, the other road border stations present increases ranging from 20% (Niki) to 80% (Doirani). ARRIVALS IN TOURIST ACCOMMODATION ESTABLISHMENTS OF IMPACT ZONE IV OF THE EGNATIA MOTORWAY (2002-2005) 2002 2003 2004 2005 Average 2002-2005 Change 2002-2005 GREECE 12,392,044 12,499,809 12,131,583 13,412,596 12,609,008 12,392,044 IMPACT ZONE IV 2,964,820 3,093,982 2,977,012 3,476,492 3,128,077 2,964,820 EAST MACEDONIA AND THRACE 536,610 519,946 553,246 589,664 549,867 536,610 DRAMA 32,131 37,284 38,780 40,633 37,207 32,131 KAVALA 213,334 210,656 208,557 212,276 211,206 213,334 EVROS 158,550 134,280 160,594 169,560 155,746 158,550 XANTHI 71,042 73,268 78,921 81,020 76,063 71,042 RODOPI 61,553 64,458 72,394 86,175 71,145 61,553 CENTRAL MACEDONIA 1,075,262 1,224,055 1,302,659 1,560,266 1,290,561 1,075,262 IMATHIA 48,642 55,395 49,699 53,750 51,872 48,642 THESSALONIKI 649,258 742,288 653,938 802,977 712,115 649,258 KILKIS 7,090 10,975 12,321 9,569 9,989 7,090 PELLA 21,585 39,022 34,202 38,161 33,243 21,585 PIERIA 120,096 131,307 169,584 147,401 142,097 120,096 SERRES 54,818 57,692 49,361 48,098 52,492 54,818 CHALKIDIKI 173,773 187,376 333,554 460,310 288,753 173,773 WEST MACEDONIA 202,196 205,420 189,915 196,012 198,386 202,196 GREVENA 17,996 19,763 17,954 19,899 18,903 17,996 KASTORIA 82,958 76,009 72,381 79,724 77,768 82,958 KOZANI 61,390 63,825 60,272 55,170 60,164 61,390 FLORINA 39,852 42,823 39,308 41,219 40,801 39,852 THESSALIA 729,616 737,899 632,750 788,201 722,117 729,616 KARDITSA 61,241 66,125 48,279 59,026 58,668 61,241 LARISA 120,674 133,603 93,677 113,604 115,390 120,674 MAGNISIA 338,934 335,264 320,989 381,287 344,119 338,934 TRIKALA 208,767 202,907 169,805 234,284 203,941 208,767 EPIRUS 421,136 406,662 298,442 342,349 367,147 421,136 ARTA 31,961 33,164 32,468 14,454 28,012 31,961 THESPROTIA 35,141 33,392 28,766 35,213 33,128 35,141 IOANNINA 263,680 249,981 177,132 202,943 223,434 263,680 PREVEZA 90,354 90,125 60,076 89,739 82,574 90,354 Source: National Statistics Service Agency, 07/2006 Generally, at Prefecture level, Thessaloniki presents the highest number of arrivals at accommodation establishments, representing the one fourth of the total of arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments in the Impact Zone IV of the 3
Egnatia Motorway, followed by the Prefectures of Magnesia and Chalkidiki. Examining each Region of the Zone separately, the prevailing Prefectures per Region in regard to the average number of arrivals in the period of 2002 to 2005 are the following: Region Prefecture Contribution in Impact Zone IV Contribution in Greece East Macedonia and Thrace Kavala 6.75% 1.68% Central Macedonia Thessaloniki 22.77% 5.65% West Macedonia Kastoria 2.49% 0.62% Epirus Ioannina 7.14% 1.77% Thessalia Magnisia 11% 2.73% During the period examined, the Prefecture of Kilkis presents the lowest contribution rate to the zone and national total of arrivals at accommodation establishments (0.3% and 0.1% respectively). The Prefectures of Drama ( 1.2% to the Zone and 0.3% to the country), Grevena (0.6% to the Zone and 0.15 to the country), Karditsa ( 1.9% to the Zone and 0.5% to the country) and Arta (0.9% to the Zone and 0.2% to the country) also present low rates. The Prefecture of Chalkidiki, where the arrivals at the accommodations establishments increased by 165%, presents the highest increase in the period of 2002 to 2005. Participation of Impact Zone IV Regions in the recorded arrivals in tourist accomodation establishments of Greece, period 2002-2005 EAST MACEDONIA AND THRACE CENTRAL MACEDONIA WEST MACEDONIA THESSALIA EPIRUS 23% 6% 12% 18% 41% Participation of certain Prefectures of each Region of Impact Zone IV in recorded arrivals in tourist accomodation establishments of Greece, period 2002-2005 7% KAVALA 41% 7% 11% 2% 23% 9% THESSALONIKI CHALKIDIKI KASTORIA MAGNISIA IOANNINA REST OF PRECECTURES 25% 75% ZONE IV REST OF THE COUNTRY Participation of Impact Zone IV in the recorded arrivals in tourist accomodation establishments of Greece, period 2002-2005 4
Regarding the overnight stops at the accommodation establishments, Central Macedonia represents 50% of the total of the Zone IV, a percentage higher than that of the arrivals, and 8% of the total of Greece. ACCOMMODATION IN TOURIST ESTABLISHMENTS OF IMPACT ZONE IV OF THE EGNATIA MOTORWAY (2000-2005) Change 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Average 2000-2005 GREECE 62,186,313 56,268,216 54,466,309 54,502,104 52,554,021 55,264,093 55,873,509-11.13% IMPACT ZONE IV 10,298,294 9,087,836 8,092,912 8,324,887 8,550,566 9,853,490 9,034,664-4.32% EAST MACEDONIA AND THRACE 1,627,735 1,624,965 1,546,853 1,490,824 1,509,539 1,536,703 1,556,103-5.59% DRAMA 60,590 52,344 55,228 65,809 69,210 72,420 62,600 19.52% KAVALA 881,155 895,796 858,255 822,898 754,534 787,479 833,353-10.63% EVROS 397,767 383,223 368,025 319,553 391,247 377,441 372,876-5.11% XANTHI 119,938 124,701 122,161 140,936 165,667 135,402 134,801 12.89% RODOPI 168,285 168,901 143,184 141,628 128,881 163,961 152,473-2.57% CENTRAL MACEDONIA 5,484,418 4,452,956 3,556,211 3,824,103 4,475,094 5,246,823 4,506,601-4.33% IMATHIA 88,004 73,321 85,181 100,698 89,978 101,193 89,729 14.99% THESSALONIKI 1,634,968 1,599,444 1,339,548 1,506,678 1,336,392 1,632,381 1,508,235-0.16% KILKIS 18,645 24,362 18,698 30,079 32,812 26,501 25,183 42.13% PELLA 60,675 64,763 48,843 72,152 65,347 68,469 63,375 12.85% PIERIA 661,093 677,188 580,154 598,564 746,306 698,364 660,278 5.64% SERRES 131,953 121,250 128,865 121,773 108,856 103,461 119,360-21.59% CHALKIDIKI 2,889,080 1,892,628 1,354,922 1,394,159 2,095,403 2,616,454 2,040,441-9.44% WEST MACEDONIA 376,206 370,597 373,896 386,208 353,470 366,190 371,095-2.66% GREVENA 31,247 25,950 33,443 38,608 35,266 39,368 33,980 25.99% KASTORIA 130,170 143,085 143,809 134,669 127,167 138,821 136,287 6.65% KOZANI 134,902 126,362 122,542 134,621 122,557 115,606 126,098-14.30% FLORINA 79,887 75,200 74,102 78,310 68,480 72,395 74,729-9.38% THESSALIA 1,752,050 1,727,389 1,735,091 1,729,936 1,540,565 1,949,851 1,739,147 11.29% KARDITSA 127,498 123,338 126,181 140,341 109,274 128,094 125,788 0.47% LARISA 268,206 225,105 258,307 277,534 200,916 231,063 243,522-13.85% MAGNISIA 1,069,246 1,114,840 1,077,902 1,034,847 998,982 1,271,994 1,094,635 18.96% TRIKALA 287,100 264,106 272,701 277,214 231,393 318,700 275,202 11.01% EPIRUS 1,057,885 911,929 880,861 893,816 671,898 753,923 861,719-28.73% ARTA 65,344 65,222 65,268 63,605 64,053 62,063 64,259-5.02% THESPROTIA 178,481 83,565 56,879 74,319 83,020 38,363 85,771-78.51% IOANNINA 487,684 474,142 470,849 441,782 319,728 352,461 424,441-27.73% PREVEZA 326,376 289,000 287,865 314,110 205,097 301,036 287,247-7.76% Source: National Statistics Service Agency, 07/2006 The Prefecture of Chalkidiki presents the highest number of overnight stops, representing about 1/4 (23%) of the total of overnight stops in the Zone and 4% of the total of overnight stops in Greece, followed by the Prefectures of Thessaloniki, Magnesia, Kavala and Pieria. The Prefectures presenting the higher number of overnight stops per Region during the period of 2002 to 2005 are the following: Region Prefecture Contribution in Impact Zone IV Contribution in Greece East Macedonia & Thrace Kavala 9.22% 1.49% Central Macedonia Chalkidiki 22.58% 3.65% West Macedonia Kastoria 1.51% 0.24% 5
Epirus Ioannina 12.12% 1.96% Thessalia Magnisia 4.7% 0.76% The Prefecture of Kilkis also presents the lowest contribution rate to Zone IV and national total of overnight stops (0.3% and 0.05% respectively) as to the arrivals total. The Prefectures of Drama, Grevena, Karditsa and Arta also present very low rates. During the period 2000-2005, Zone IV presented a decrease of the overnight stops by a percentage lower, however, than that of Greece (-4.3% as opposed to -11.1% of Greece). The highest decrease rate was noted in Epirus (-28.7%), while Thessalia is contrarily the only Region that presented an increase (11.3%). Among the Prefectures of Impact Zone IV presenting the higher number of overnight stops, Prefectures of Kavala and Chalkidiki presented a decrease, Prefecture of Thessaloniki presented no changes and Prefectures of Magnesia and Pieria presented an increase. Regarding the rest Prefectures, Kilkis and Grevena presented a remarkable increase rate, while Ioannina and Thesprotia presented a high increase rate. TOURIST ACCOMMODATION ESTABLISHMENTS* 1996-2005 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 GREECE 8,252 8,185 8,281 8,512 8,692 8,684 8,666 9,022 9,230 9,377 IMPACT ZONE IV 1,747 1,784 1,897 2,003 2,105 2,102 2,229 2,355 2,451 2,506 EAST MACEDONIA AND THRACE 286 288 301 311 320 320 331 353 357 362 DRAMA 42 42 43 45 48 48 56 61 60 64 KAVALA 11 11 12 14 13 13 12 15 15 16 EVROS 15 15 16 17 19 19 20 21 19 21 XANTHI 7 7 8 9 9 9 9 13 15 15 RODOPI 211 213 222 226 231 231 234 243 248 246 CENTRAL MACEDONIA 767 791 869 948 1,002 1,000 1,056 1,126 1,184 1,210 IMATHIA 12 12 13 13 18 18 20 22 23 27 THESSALONIKI 87 91 100 108 111 111 114 120 128 128 KILKIS 11 10 12 12 12 12 12 12 13 13 PELLA 11 11 13 20 27 27 33 41 44 45 PIERIA 272 280 311 335 347 345 353 376 394 400 SERRES 13 13 14 16 20 20 33 20 21 22 CHALKIDIKI 361 374 406 444 467 467 491 535 561 575 WEST MACEDONIA 51 53 57 64 68 68 81 87 93 98 GREVENA 5 6 9 11 12 12 12 14 15 16 KASTORIA 13 14 14 17 19 19 27 27 27 29 KOZANI 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 23 26 27 FLORINA 13 13 14 16 17 17 22 23 25 26 THESSALIA 467 474 482 487 509 508 523 539 556 564 KARDITSA 14 16 17 18 21 21 27 29 31 32 LARISA 42 41 42 42 43 43 43 45 46 50 MAGNISIA 359 363 368 371 381 380 387 396 407 407 TRIKALA 52 54 55 56 64 64 66 69 72 75 EPIRUS 176 178 188 193 206 206 238 250 261 272 ARTA 7 6 6 6 7 7 9 12 13 14 THESPROTIA 39 41 41 41 43 43 43 49 50 49 IOANNINA 66 66 74 79 86 86 116 109 114 119 PREVEZA 64 65 67 67 70 70 70 80 84 90 *Hotels, similar accommodation establishments, campings, Source: National Statistics Service Agency, 07/2006 6
In regard to hotel capacity, Impact Zone IV of Egnatia Motorway represents 26% of the total of Greece in 2005. Region of Central Macedonia is prevailing, having 1,210 tourist accommodation establishments in 2005, a percentage representing 47% of the total of the Zone. The lowest number of tourist accommodation establishments is found in West Macedonia (98 in 2005, a percentage representing 1.1% of the Zone). Generally, during the decade 1996-2005, the number of tourist accommodation establishments in Zone IV has increased by a percentage much higher than that of Greece (45.7% as opposed to 14.2%). During this period, Region of West Macedonia has doubled its hotel capacity (96% increase rate). Regions of Central Macedonia (61.2%) and Epirus (57.1%) also presented a high increase of the hotel capacity. Among the Prefectures of tourist interest, Prefecture of Chalkidiki presented the highest increase (63%), while among the rest Prefectures, Prefectures of Pella, Grevena and Kastoria presented the highest increase rate. Regarding the accommodation occupancy rates, Zone IV presents lower rates compared to that of the total of Greece (average occupancy in the period of 2000 to 2005: 44% as opposed to 61% of Greece). At regional level, Central Macedonia presents a higher rate than the rest Regions of Zone IV, with an accommodation occupancy rate of 55% in the period 2000-2005, followed by the Region of Thessaly, with an accommodation occupancy rate of 43.3%. At Prefecture Level, Chalkidiki is prevailing with an average occupancy rate of 74%, followed by the Prefecture of Pieria with an average occupancy rate of 50%. West Macedonia is classificated in the last positions, with an average rate of 37.2%, while at Prefecture level the Prefectures of Grevena, Pella and Kilkis, with occupancy rates below 25%, are positioned last. The progress is positive in the last examined year (2005), when an increase of the occupancy in many Prefectures of the Zone is noted. Specifically in 2005, 15 out of the 24 Prefectures of Zone IV presented an increase of the tourist accommodation establishments occupancy, at an average rate of 8.3%. The Prefectures that presented the higher increase are: Trikala, Preveza, Kavala, Ioannina and Florina with a percentage ranging from 12% to 26% in the period of 2004-2005. During the same period, at Prefecture level, an increase of the occupancy is observed in all the Regions of the Zone, with Epirus presenting the higher increase (9.6%). The number of visitors to museums and archaeological sites in the Impact Zone of Egnatia Motorway represents 6% of the tickets sold by archaeological sites and museums of the country on average. This percentage is shared by the Regions as follows: in Central Macedonia 354.565 tickets out of the 513,248 of the Zone are sold per year on average (70% of the Zone and 4.2% of the total of Greece). At Prefecture level, Thessaloniki presents the highest rate of tickets sold by museums and at archaeological sites on average (23% of the Zone IV and 1.4% of the country). 7
OCCUPANCY OF TOURIST ACCOMMODATION ESTABLISHMENTS ( %) 2000-2005 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Average GREECE 64.83% 63.37% 61.81% 60.71% 55.59% 58.57% 60.81% IMPACT ZONE IV 48.03% 46.97% 44.40% 43.48% 38.71% 40.69% 43.71% EAST MACEDONIA AND THRACE 46.20% 46.15% 42.74% 41.20% 37.86% 39.76% 42.32% DRAMA 48.03% 46.61% 39.00% 37.22% 36.11% 33.58% 40.09% KAVALA 35.85% 35.16% 34.45% 39.71% 35.28% 35.55% 36.00% EVROS 41.00% 38.00% 33.50% 30.41% 33.23% 33.34% 34.91% XANTHI 40.07% 31.67% 27.92% 29.41% 31.83% 32.28% 32.20% RODOPI 49.19% 51.95% 50.64% 47.87% 41.22% 47.70% 48.10% CENTRAL MACEDONIA 59.86% 58.33% 55.81% 53.25% 49.77% 50.43% 54.58% IMATHIA 40.57% 38.59% 35.62% 36.27% 31.78% 34.16% 36.16% THESSALONIKI 52.30% 51.24% 49.02% 47.84% 43.10% 42.84% 47.72% KILKIS 19.67% 24.99% 19.77% 22.04% 23.83% 19.32% 21.60% PELLA 23.97% 28.01% 23.26% 23.04% 21.32% 20.03% 23.27% PIERIA 46.44% 52.04% 55.91% 52.01% 46.91% 49.34% 50.44% SERRES 40.97% 37.19% 39.59% 34.96% 33.79% 33.16% 36.61% CHALKIDIKI 77.18% 79.94% 79.36% 77.47% 65.25% 64.73% 73.99% WEST MACEDONIA 42.18% 38.79% 37.78% 39.16% 31.66% 33.12% 37.11% GREVENA 27.47% 22.37% 24.57% 24.38% 20.62% 21.19% 23.43% KASTORIA 47.73% 45.45% 44.71% 46.17% 36.81% 38.22% 43.18% KOZANI 40.27% 35.37% 36.04% 41.10% 33.85% 34.81% 36.91% FLORINA 46.86% 44.93% 38.61% 37.51% 28.79% 32.21% 38.15% THESSALIA 46.14% 47.26% 44.50% 43.12% 38.29% 40.69% 43.33% KARDITSA 51.27% 49.80% 43.37% 41.53% 39.72% 40.65% 44.39% LARISA 39.48% 37.11% 39.32% 37.32% 35.51% 33.17% 36.99% MAGNISIA 51.36% 53.58% 50.32% 48.55% 42.03% 43.93% 48.30% TRIKALA 35.69% 36.19% 33.77% 34.79% 28.63% 36.17% 34.21% EPIRUS 45.78% 44.30% 41.18% 40.67% 35.99% 39.46% 41.23% ARTA 53.39% 53.29% 54.80% 51.96% 47.73% 38.69% 49.98% THESPROTIA 52.68% 31.10% 32.19% 32.37% 35.43% 24.40% 34.70% IOANNINA 45.98% 47.10% 46.03% 43.63% 40.12% 45.10% 44.66% PREVEZA 41.28% 42.85% 34.12% 36.45% 27.92% 35.22% 36.31% Source: National Statistics Service Agency, 07/2006 In general the direct improvement of the accessibility to areas of tourist interest, due to Egnatia Motorway, will have as a result the simplification of many different tourist routes along Northern Greece. More specifically the areas of tourist interest that will benefit from the operation of Egnatia Motorway can be concisely presented per Region as follows: 8
Participation of each region (of Zone IV) in number of museums and archeological site tickets, period 1998-2006 Participation of certain Prefectures of each Region of Impact Zone IV in number of tickets in museums and archeological sites, period 1998-2006 4% 1% 16% 9% 21% 6% 20% Kavala Imathia Thessaloniki East Macedonia and Thrace Central Macedonia West Macedonia Thessalia Epirus 70% 6% 9% 15% 23% Pieria Kastoria Kozani Larisa 6.02% Impact Zone IV REST OF THE COUNTRY 93.98% Participation of Impact Zone IV in number of museum and archeological site tickets of Greece, period 1998-2006 In Region of East Macedonia and Thrace, already exist tourism saturated areas, such as the Prefecture of Kavala, on the coasts of which the holiday residence, legally or illegally built, is prevalent. Similar conditions are also found on the coasts of the other Prefectures. There are also a number of important wetlands (The deltas of the two big rivers, Nestos and Evros, Vistonida Lake and Mitriko Lake), while in some locations important archaeological sites are found. The main feature of the spatial distribution of Central Macedonia s hotel capacity is the fact that it is mostly clustered in the coastal areas of the Prefectures of Chalkidiki, Pieria and Thessaloniki. Many of those areas are saturated by tourism. The wetlands of the deltas of Axios, Loudias, and Aliakmonas, the environmental formations of Sithonia and Kassandra and an extremely significant reserve of history, culture and natural resources are encountered in Central Macedonia. Nowadays tourist movement in the Region of West Macedonia is found at: the furriery axis, Kastoria-Argos Orestiko-Siatista, the ski centers of Pisoderi- Vasilitsa, the National Forest of Prespes (ecotourism), the National Forest of Pindos (Valia Kalda) and the mountain communities of the Prefecture of Grevena, where during the last years some small accommodation units have been developed, at Aiani due to its archaeological interest, at the settlement of Nymfaio at Vitsi, where the facilities of the noted ecological group 9
Arktouros, that takes care of rehabilitates and returns bears to their natural environment, are located. In Epirus, areas of tourism and holiday resorts uses are developed along the coasts of the Prefecture of Preveza up to Parga and in the Prefecture of Thesprotia in the areas of Perdika, Syvota and Plataria. Recently, forms of soft tourism have developed in the internal semi mountainous and mountainous areas, specifically in Zagorochoria and less in Tzoumerka and dispersedly in the areas along the borders. Finally in Thessalia there are two wider zones that have a natural reserve of important size and significance and important renowned mountainous or sea tourism destinations. The first zone is located along the arch of Olympus- Ossa-Mavrovouni-Sporades and the second one is located on the west and is a part of the mountain range of Pindos, including Meteora, Koziaka, the lakes of Plastiras and Smokovo, e.t.c. METADATA Sources The raw data come from Greek National Statistics Service Agency (ESYE). The data and the results presented should be considered as temporary. For some of the above elements the data are insufficient for the years before 2000. Those data are expected to be presented soon and after an overall processing of all the data concerning tourist movement a special Report will be issued. This special Report will be on the development of tourism in the Impact Zone IV of the Egnatia Motorway, in order to investigate in detail the specific effects of the motorway. The data presented comply with the standard data categories recorded by GNSA. The arrival and overnight stops tables at tourism accommodation establishments refer to hotels and also to camping sites. Therefore the arrivals and the overnight stops include both business and commercial visitors. Methodology The data of Greek National Statistics Service Agency (ESYE) were recorded on the Geographical Database of the Observatory, where the statistic and spatial processing was carried out. 10