Occupancy rates for holiday room and apartment rentals have posted a decline in the first few months of this tourism season that reaches up to 50 percent in some areas, due to the drop in demand recorded throughout the period that the SYRIZA-led government has been locked in negotiations with the country’s creditors, as well as the increase in the phenomenon of illegal accommodation.

The president of the Confederation of Enterprises for Rented Rooms & Apartments, Constantinos Brentanos, says that the country’s small accommodation units – most of which are family-run – are under great pressure from the ongoing economic uncertainty.

Many tourism destinations have also seen a significant rise in illegal tourism accommodation, which is fast becoming one of the biggest sources of tax evasion in the country. Brentanos goes on to estimate that the total number of beds in all types of illegal tourism accommodation exceeds 200,000 across the country.

Brentanos adds that his confederation is ready to offer its services toward combating the illegal economy in tourism accommodation as it is inflicting a major blow on the legally operating enterprises in the sector.