What could a holiday to Greece or Cyprus look like?

Booking trends

Sunvil, which has seen the majority of its clients (60%) deferring trips to Greece and Cyprus to 2021, predicts that villa holidays and trips to less crowded Greek islands will become popular when it’s safe to travel again.

“For families, a villa is a good option as you don’t have to mix with others and can stay by the pool,” recommends Der Parthog. Many of the operator’s villa properties in Greece would allow clients to have a more isolated holiday, he adds. “A lot of our villas are not in the centre of busy resorts, but are instead in or near villages, or inland, with tavernas and beaches that are walkable.”

Der Parthog describes trips to “less crowded islands” as “one of Sunvil’s strengths”. He recommends the “sheltered” Dodecanese Islands as a good option for clients who might wish to travel in late season this year, once it’s quieter and less crowded.

In recent years, the operator has seen a rise in tailor-made holiday requests, which it envisages will continue in a post-coronavirus landscape.

With many clients unlikely to travel this year for either financial reasons or anxiety about the pandemic, Der Parthog says those who do choose to travel to Greece this year will benefit from fewer tourists.

“It could be a chance to go to some of the busier islands such as Santorini or Mykonos in the Cyclades,” he says. “In many ways, a holiday to Greece could be improved thanks to fewer people on the beaches or in the tavernas.”

Safe hands

Sunvil’s properties are already working to comply with the Greek and Cypriot governments’ safety protocols.
Der Parthog envisages ramped-up safety measures at their featured hotels to include revised cleaning rotas so rooms are only cleaned on request during a client’s stay, socially distanced queuing for lifts or restaurants and replacing buffet dining with in-room or a la carte options.

The operator is updating general safety information from the Greek and Cypriot governments on its blog pages, and encouraging agents and clients to check individual hotel sites to find out about the safety measures they are implementing.

Small victories

Elegant Resorts is also seeing an uptick in bookings and enquiries for Greece and Cyprus week by week, though numbers are still very small, says Rebecca Turner, head of product and commercial.

Those who do travel to Greece and Cyprus this year will be able to do so more cheaply than in recent years, says Turner. “We’re not accepting bookings this year until 1 September onwards but from then, we have some amazing deals from hotels with added extras including free nights.”

The luxury operator has noticed that clients who are booking are opting for longer stays than they usually would. “People who are normally staying a week are booking for 10 days, or those who used to book 10 days are booking two weeks,” she says.

In these uncertain times, Turner says familiar short-haul destinations such as Greece and Cyprus are more appealing to clients.

“From what I’m hearing, people are going for [Greece and Cyprus] because it’s a short- haul, single flight, so easy proximity, and easy to get home if needs be. Even if they do have to quarantine there, a lot of the resorts have amazing facilities and are abiding by safety measures so people can feel safe,” she says.

The operator has been impressed by the speed with which its featured hotels and properties have prepared to open safely.

“We’ve had updates from almost all our properties in Greece, all of which are abiding by the World Health Organization’s criteria. They’ve been very comprehensive with what they’re doing."