In the battle of the “pencils”, the government, the “bell” of Mytilene, a barrel without a bottom and what scares the hoteliers – Economic Post – 2024-08-25 17:24:09

The Minister of Development, Takis Theodorikakos, is in continuous meetings with the market operators for school supplies, while the similar “basket” will be launched by the end of the month.

The problem is elsewhere

I am not suggesting that school fees are not a serious expense for families. On the contrary, in fact.

But I also read the inflation figures more closely.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and unprocessed food prices, was held at 2.8%.

The message is different and the government should get it, especially when the housing crisis is looming.

Especially when the housing period for students comes. They are also young learners.

The little bell that became… a bell

The current account bell has rung once more, but the government is dealing with the swimming pool… hmmm sorry Kasselakis “septic tank”.

The messages from the country’s trade deficit are not good and sooner or later the time of crisis will come.

This is what my sources from the market tell me, who are wary of the “much advertised” upgrades of the Greek economy.

Competitiveness… zero

It cannot go unnoticed that in the first half of the year, the current account deficit increased by 693.4 million euros and reached 8.8 billion euros.

And however we look at it as a percentage of GDP, the magnitude is large.

If we consider that exports decreased by 2.9% (5.9% at constant prices) and imports of goods increased by 3.4% (3.8% at constant prices), the message of the competitiveness of Greek production is negative.

The tourism sprint

The current account deficit would indeed be even larger if the improvement in the travel services balance was not strong.

It is not new after all that the country’s tourism industry is breaking new records, looking forward to new highs this year.

Travel revenues in the first 6 months of 2024 amounted to 6.9 billion euros compared to 6.1 billion euros in the corresponding period of 2023.

Essentially, 754 million euros were added during the corresponding period this year compared to last year.

During this period, arrivals increased by 15.5%.

But we are talking about our high season.

And the indicator that worries

All figures and all indicators suggest that 2024 will be another record year for Greek tourism.

But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some “hidden” indicators that trouble people who follow the data closely.

One such indicator is airline seat reservations on inbound international flights in the summer season.

According to insete’s airdata tracker, in July the change in airline seat reservations compared to the corresponding month last year is negative at -0.9%, as were the previous months from March onwards.

Of course, the arrivals until July are up, however this indicator raises concerns about the scope of the impact it will have on the final result, which in any case will be positive.

The Greeks are turning their backs on Santorini

At the same time, the records were not much for the Greeks, who had a hard time during their holidays this year.

This was known. Just as they turned their backs on “traditional” tourist destinations.

The evidence showing that they preferred Tinos, Aegina, Naxos, Syros, Paros and Crete was also clear.

Santorini is no longer among the most popular islands of the Greeks, something that was also observed during the Easter period and the Holy Spirit this year.

Let the local actors take this into account, because they will lose the Greek “pie”. As much as they don’t care now.

They have the Americans and the French…

Americans, like the French, preferred, according to FerryHopper, the traditionally more touristic destinations such as Paros, Mykonos, Santorini, Naxos and Milos.

But as people in the industry explain to me, the influx of Americans can be reversed at any time.

Especially if the dollar starts to “bite”. Or their economy. One of the two…

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Mytileneos flashed again

Evangelos Mytilineos does not miss an opportunity to criticize the European Union’s mistakes.

And for many… the president of Metlen and Eurometaux is doing well.

Especially for the timing of his intervention.

“With a new Commission ante portas and no more time to waste in debate, we expect immediate substantive action,” he said.

It is clearly vital what he points out, namely that the Commission has failed to take action to support European industry to play the role of supplier of critical raw materials.

Nor are fixed IRA-like tools or incentives (ie the US Anti-Inflation Act which includes incentives for raw materials and energy, among others) present.