奢华Travel is Becoming More Accessible in Greece
经过Richard D’Ambrosio/
对于试图预订前往希腊的豪华旅行客户的旅行社,这些选择并不像您在其他流行的欧洲目的地期望的那样丰富。beplay银行卡
In a recent report, Hospitality Valuation Systems (HVS) noted how luxury lodging is not easily defined in Greece due to a “lack of a reliable classification system.” At of the end of 2015, there were 9,757 hotels throughout the country, but only 16 percent of total hotel room supply was classified as five-star. (Reliable data for villas and similar alternative lodging are less readily found.)
但是,与当地旅行社和目的地管理公司(DMC)合作的成功的奢侈品代理商正在从其专业知识和与高端住宿,地面运输和希腊的经验接触的好处。
Greece came in as the top destination in Virtuoso Travel’s 2018 “Hot 10” list for summer vacations, recording the largest percentage of year-over-year bookings growth. (Bookings are sourced from Virtuoso's U.S. and Canadian travel agency members and reflects future travel for June, July and August 2018.)
Virtuoso Destinations&Enseraions董事总经理Cece Dbeplay银行卡rummond表示,希腊的豪华旅游旅游业已从慢速建设势头中受益。“几年前,我们开始注意到,尽管希腊在挣扎中,但稍稍挣扎着,客户和经纪人看到了交易,但希腊的人群较小,人们开始在那里起飞。”
Attending the American Society of Travel Agents’ Destination Expo this April, Eleni Micheli, contracting manager for AXIA Reservation Management, representing ten Greek “luxury” accommodations, said, “it is so important for agents to come to Greece, and spend 7-8 days, to see the level of luxury we offer.”
新投资者正在促进希腊的豪华旅行体验
As Greece emerges from its long financial crisis, investment dollars are beginning to flow back in to the country, especially into its tourism industry, with many savvy entrepreneurs focused on the luxury market.
Villa2be.com首席执行官Spiros Catechis是一位前华尔街分析师,最近回到他的家乡科福(Corfu),为包括五星级别墅在内的国际旅行者开发豪华酒店场所。
Catechis告诉旅游市场beplay客服报告,discerning traveler is very interested in less popular Greek islands, if they can find the total package in one place – including higher-end experiences, from ground transportation, to dining options, to accommodations. As a result, investors like him are expanding their holdings.
“More and more investors are here because they realize luxury travelers know Corfu offers the experience and the privacy they require,” Catechis said.
Corfu received a boost in July 2016, when the Bravo network filmed a destination wedding episode there. “Million Dollar Listing” stars Ryan Serhant and Emilia Bechrakis hosted the affair at an 8,100-square-foot villa on a 9-acre estate, located in the northern town of Villa Avlaki. (The 6-bedroom, 6-bath home typically rents for $75,000 a week.)
“该计划对奢侈品旅行者和投资者产生了很多积极的关注,”旅行社和位于科福的入站旅游运营商Hellenic Connections的所有者兼董事总经理Vassilis Kontos说。
In fact, discerning travel agents and travelers find Greek villas comparable in quality to other popular European destinations. “Americans are often surprised at the level of luxury that can be offered in Greece today, but the typical luxury traveler knows differently,” said Elena Fotiadi, marketing director at White Key Villas, a 12-year-old company that markets 300 properties across Greece and offers travel agents 10 percent commissions.
Diane Panagiotopoulos, president of La Greca, another Greek DMC, said most of her American luxury travelers are couples and honeymooners, looking for the smaller islands and very exclusive experiences. She also is seeing an increasing number of family travelers and multi-generational groups who are looking for privacy and very high-end care. “Often, we are dealing with people who need to travel incognito,” she said.
Eugenia Pereira, a luxury travel specialist with the Argo Travel Group, a 65-year-old Athens-based DMC, urged American agents to seek out hidden gems like the Porto Zante Villas & Spa, a five-star property located on Zakynthos Island, off the west coast of Greece. Porto Zante, a Virtuoso preferred property, offers tremendous privacy, Pereira said, and very unique local experiences.
Virtuoso works with four different DMCs in Greece, “and they are telling us a lot of clients are asking for villa rentals.” Among the 22 properties Virtuoso has in its preferred portfolio for Greece, Drummond noted Sani Asterias at Sani Resort, on the Kassandra Peninsula near Thessaloniki, as an example of how luxury can be found outside the popular tourist islands.
Panagiotopoulos said American agents also might be pleasantly surprised by the boutique properties they can find on islands like Paros, Naxos, Skiathos, Patmos and Oinouses.
超越住宿的独家经验
Panagiotopoulos said that the broad availability of Lear jets and yachts has opened up the opportunities for exclusive and luxurious itineraries for the American travel agent networks she works with, like Virtuoso, Tzell and ProTravel International.
琼·库托里斯·史瓦兹(Joan Coutroulis-Schwartz)说:“如果客户想在高峰季节去旺季,我就可以租一辆游艇,只要天气cool脚,他们就可以让队长从米洛斯到纳克索斯,再到圣托里尼。”伊利诺伊州迪尔菲尔德湖岸旅行的顾问。
“它不仅可以非常豪华,而且也不必昂贵。人们还忘记了雅典南部的伯罗奔尼撒州,那里有一些可爱的豪华物业。”
At the villas in Porto Zante, Pereira said, “you can go swimming with sea turtles. There are local fishermen who fish that day for the dinner you enjoy that night. This is what luxury travelers have come to expect.”
白色钥匙别墅收到了客户和代理商的各种要求,从提供直升机转移到为客人的孩子确保讲俄语的导师,他们最近在希腊度假时希望提供教育机会。
“美国奢侈品旅行者希望感受到当地希腊人的生活,感受他们所访问的地方的文化和生活,”雅典概念之旅的Paola Kolenda说。她的公司将带一个客户留在Mykonos到附近的Mykonos,无人居住的五平方英里岛Rineia,进行游泳和户外烧烤。
Antonis Chatzis, managing director at Athens-based Be a Greek, an 18-month-old DMC, said he is also seeing a heightened interest from luxury American travelers in small islands, like his home of Tinos, an island adjacent to Mykonos.
蒂诺斯(Tinos)及其美术学院(Tinos)以其古老的大理石雕刻工艺而闻名,其主要机构负责恢复雅典的雅典卫城(Acrocolis),在高端美国旅行者中非常受欢迎。
查兹斯说:“去过海滩,酿酒厂,克里特岛和圣托里尼岛,这些都是美国人现在想要做的事情。”代理商可以在公司的旅行中赚取15%的佣金。