“As if there are more of us this year”
Every August, the big city bee leaves its hive. The buzz dies down, the streets breathe, the shutters of the shops come down like heavy eyelids.
This year, however, in Thessaloniki, as if there are more of us.
To the pile of lost certainties of the Greeks was added – for some recently, for others a decade ago – that of the summer holidays. Accuracy is now so tangible that it is impossible not to stumble over it.
Although tourism experts speak of very high mobility, this is not reflected in the turnover of the shops. Businesses who see the low consumption as idle, tourists who try not to spend, but also those who don’t leave the city at all talk to Parallaxi about this year’s August in Thessaloniki.
The taken focus and the shops
“This year we had the worst winter, worse than the one on record,” confesses Mr. Charalambos Daskalopoulos, who maintains a catering store in Athonos Square. “This lasted almost until April. May was reminiscent of the beginning of quarantine seasons, but soon after the dire economic situation of the world played a decisive role. Even those who were financially comfortable were caught off guard by high electricity and gas bills and cut short their vacations to cope. The whole world is stressed about it,” he continues.
“The rest of the summer is down, although I’m seeing more people staying in town this year. In previous years, we were closing at weekends, because it didn’t make sense to open for two or three people. Now there are more, but the turnovers are not the same. Mostly young people come here, traveling economically with cheap air tickets. Even though northern countries come, with much more accurate prices per hour, here they read the list one by one.”
“They are limited to 7-8 euros, they get a homemade lemonade and a Greek coffee. Of course, they also have their anxiety about the winter, because their own countries are also affected. What saves you somewhat is the joy of meeting new people, they are likeable. Just because this whole period has passed that has put us behind on our payments and with electricity being so expensive that we can’t keep up, I don’t know how the focus is going to be able to keep up when everything is getting expensive.”
Although department stores are in the heart of the discount season, consumer purchases remain subdued. Mr. Nikos Chytiroglou, who owns a commercial store on Ermou Street, says characteristically: “The traffic in the midst of discounts is relatively sluggish, compared to previous years. Every year things get a little worse. Although the whole market has very good prices, the people obviously because of the general accuracy that they have to deal with, but also because of the unfavorable forecasts for the winter, are limited.
How do the summer holidays affect store coffers? Mr. Chytiroglou answers: “Absence due to summer holidays plays a role with regard to the Greeks, several of whom have left. But we expected more purchases from tourists. This year, however, our turnover has dropped significantly, compared to foreign markets.”
The tourist groups
The younger people of Nea Thessaloniki love the Beach and enjoy taking photos at the Zongolopoulos Umbrellas. The percentage of French-speaking tourists is particularly high this summer, with the historical monuments of the city, but also the culinary delights at normal price levels not the main points of interest for travelers.
A group of tourists from Belgium spoke to Parallaxi about their experience of traveling to Thessaloniki: “We didn’t expect it to be so beautiful. We visited many churches, the Beach and the White Tower. We really like the food of Thessaloniki and ouzo. We would like to choose other nearby destinations, but I don’t know if we will be able to.”
Asking them if they identified any negative element in the city, the answer was unanimous: “It could be cleaner, we have seen garbage even in the parks, where it shouldn’t be. Also, we didn’t see any public toilets anywhere.”
And those who stay?
As of August, Thessaloniki is by no means empty. It may be that the image of the city at certain times of the day strongly reminds of the absence of licensees, however, compared to other years, there are many who are forced to do the urban summer.
Eleni is a worker and mother of two children. She spends her summer in the center of Thessaloniki “willingly or not”, as she typically says. “Consider that I was one of the ‘lucky ones’, because I was drawn as a beneficiary of the Tourism for All program. But when I tried to book a room, in a nearby area, only people didn’t laugh. There was nothing for August, of course. Then I didn’t look any further, because the costs are also rising, but also the fatigue of the organization is killing me. And we are already very tired psychologically with what is happening. I will at least try to send the children to the village, to their grandparents, if only to change performances”, he confesses.
The unimaginable amounts of electricity bills that citizens have been asked to pay this year are definitively burying the possibility of a vacation. Dimitra and Christos, a couple who lived in the city center, report: “In May, we received the electricity bill and it was 1,000 euros! When we saw it, we looked at each other and said that there is no way we can go on vacation for even two days this year if we want to pay him.”
And how does the August stay in the city ease? Our images show that there are ways. From reading a book in the shade and being in contact with urban greenery, to afternoon and evening walks on the beach, with its thermal sunset and, why not, with an ice cream in hand.