June 2015

Review/ Analysis of the data for the frequency of visits in the spa units

The research is shaped by having as a basis the last decade, since the last year of data gathering was 2014 (2005 - 2014).

Through the years 2005 – 2009 there is a steady, annual increase and thus a significant increase – 17.3% - in the admission tickets.

However, this situation reversesin 2010: the decrease, in comparison with 2009, is 11%. In 201, this decrease is even sharper and as a result the admission tickets were fewer by 19.8% annually in comparison with 2005. In 2012 the total number of admission tickets is even lower: 55% fewer tickets than in 2011 and 37.68% fewer tickets than in 2009. The 2012 value remains constant for the years 2013 and 2014 (881.090 tickets in 2014 – 875.197 tickets in 2012).

There are a lot of factors that contribute to this downward trend of the admission tickets in the spa units. The first and foremost factor appears to be the curtailments in the benefits that the insurance funds offer. These curtailments include:

-the number of the approved applications,

-the duration of the approved treatment,

-the exclusion of potential visitors from other geographical regions,

-the exception of certain ailments from the approved list.

Meanwhile, the continuous economic crisis resulted in the decrease of the days that one stays in a spa town (and consequently, a decrease in tickets). Another result was that the number of visitors that covered their own expenses has dropped significantly.

Analysis of the frequency of visits per Prefecture

The prefectures that, traditionally, have the highest number of visitors/ tickets are those of Central Greece (including Evoia, that is the spa units of Aidpsos) and Central Macedonia.

During 2012, the prefecture of Central Greece witnessed a sharper drop in the number of visitors and the admission tickets accounted for 32% of the tickets in 2011 and 16.9% of the tickets in 2009. The drop, which in comparison with 2012 is 11%, continues all though 2013. Almost the same applies for the drop during 2014, which in comparison with 2013 is 13.7%. In general, the total decrease in tickets among the years 2009 – 2014 is 86.9%.

Although Central Macedonia, also, witnesses a decrease in its visitors, this decrease is not as sharp as the one in Central Greece. In particular, the tickets of 2014 account for the 75.1% of those in 2011 and 64% of those in 2009. However, the drop in this region shows also a downward trend: having the year 2009 as a basis – year, since it was the best year regarding tickets, in 2010 the number of the tickets was decreased by 6.2%, in 2011 by 14.8% and in 2012 by 39.2%. In 2013, we record a small recovery in comparison with 2012 (1.5% increase) and in 2014 the recovery continues and the increase is 5.3%.

The downward trend of the visits is recorded in every prefecture of the country. The number of tickets in 2014 is smaller even in comparison with 2005, which is the year that this research program started. Nevertheless, if we compare the years 2012 and 2014, which had almost the same number of tickets, we can pinpoint different observations per prefecture.

  • In the Northern Aegean Region a upward trend - 39.7% - was recorded, due to the increased visits in the operating spa units of Lesvos and Ikaria (the spa units, in both regions are owned by municipal enterprises). Furthermore, in the Attica Region the increase was 12.1% due to the increased visits in “Limni Voulagiamenis” spa unit. An increase of 25% was recorded in Peloponnese, due to the Loutraki Thermal Spa.
  • When we compare the years 2012 and 2014, we observe downward trends in the following regions: Eastern Macedonia and Thrace – 31%, Epirus – 13.6%, Thessaly- 18.6%, Western Greece – 21.2% and Southern Aegean – 12.5%.

Over time, the Central Macedonia Region attracts a steady stream of spa tourists: from 2005 to 2009 there is a steady annual increase and thus its representative quota of 24.49% 2005 was raised to 31.17% in 2009. In the years 2010 and 2011, the signs of the decrease of tourism are also prominent here as well. However, this decrease is slight and as a result the representative quotas of Central Macedonia increase to 33.04% in 2010 and to 38.88% in 2011. Despite the fact that the decrease is sharper in 2012, the representative quota of Central Macedonia surpasses 50% (this has everything to do with the fact that the most dramatic decrease is observed in Central Greece). The tickets in the spa units of Central Macedonia increase slightly in 2013 and more significantly in 2014 and therefore 52.6% of the total annual tourist movement is accumulated in Central Macedonia. In the above situation, the facilities of the Pozar Spa (Loutraki Aridaias) played the decisive role since it is the biggest spa unit. What also contributed were the amelioration of the facilities of the spa units of Agkistro, Apollonia and Sidirokastro. The constant high number of the visitors in comparison with other prefectures counterbalances the losses of tickets of the other spa units and thus the positive situation of the Central Macedonia Region remains.

Analysis of the Frequency of Visits per Operator

The distribution of the admission tickets sold per operator for the decade 2005 – 2014 shows that the municipal enterprises contribute on average half of the tickets nationally (52.86%). Indeed, this percentage rate increases as the years progress: 45.74% in 2005 to 67.98% in 2012 to 70.91% in 2014. Meanwhile, the number of tickets in the private enterprises continues to fall. This is due mainly to the stabilization and to the partial increase in 2013, in comparison with 2012, as well as the increase in 2014 in the following spa units: Lesvos and Ikaria (Northern Aegean Region), Loutraki Thermal Spa (Peloponnese Region), Pozar (Loutraki Aridaia), Agkistro, Apollonia and Sidirokastro (Central Macedonia).

The spa units that are owned by the Public Properties Company exhibited a declining course (each passing year was worse than the previous one)in absolute and percentage values. Therefore, the tickets sold in 2005 were 334.172 and their number declines steadily until in 2014 when only 65.246 tickets were sold (19.5% of the tickets in comparison with 2015). In 2013 there is a small increase, in comparison with 2012, of 7.79% that is attributed to the following spa units: Ypati, Aidipsos and Kaifa. However, this increase doesn’t suffice to counterbalance the overall decline in the other spa units in 2014 (Thermopiles didn’t operate in 2014).

The decline in the private enterprises is also very sharp. The decline between the years 2005 and 2014 is 66% for the private enterprises (except Aidipsos), 90.4% for the private enterprises of Aidipsos with spring and 91.4% for the private enterprises of Aidipsos with water supply from GNTO. A steady decline is observed in all privately operated spa units, with the exception of the significant increase in the unit of “Limni Vouliagmenis”. Therefore, the total number of the tickets sold in private enterprises accounts for the 21.7% of the total number of tickets sold nationally (in 2009 this percentage was 38.56%).

The comparison between 2014 and 2005 shows the downward spiral of the last 5 years (2012 was its peak), given the fact that in every category of operators the tickets sold in 2005 were more than those in 2014. The constant high number of visitors in the units of Central Macedonia and Northern Aegean (where the operators are municipal enterprises) contributes to the relatively satisfactory number of tickets sold – even though the decrease in these regions during the same time period are 36% for Central Macedonia and 56.1% for Northern Aegean.

The comparatively better situation of the municipal enterprises of Central Macedonia and Northern Aegean is attributed to the fact that these spa units were successful in attracting visitors that are not depended on insurance funds and thus were not influenced by the curtailments that the insurance funds imposed. On the contrary, several of the private enterprises in Aidipsos and in other areas depend almost solely on those that use the insurance funds’ aid and therefore the changes imposed, led to a sharp decrease in their visitors.