Seasonality, extension of the tourist season and a meaningless dialogue

(Published in www.tornosnews.gr: 23.01.2024, in greek)

The seasonality of tourist demand and the extension of the tourist season are always at the top of the agenda of the public dialogue on tourism. But the concepts of seasonality and extension, while by no means identical, are often confused.

The term “seasonality” describes the phenomenon of temporal uneven distribution of demand, as recorded on a monthly basis within a year/tourist season. The term “extension” refers to the period of operation of a tourist destination, which extends beyond its usual duration.

The phenomenon of seasonality can occur, both in a destination that operates all year round, and in a destination that operates for a few months.

The extension of the tourist season, which should be the priority by far instead of simply easing seasonality, means operating more days/weeks/months with satisfactory occupancy, reasonable prices and keeping employment high. In other words, under conditions where the “business” makes sense and the tourist destinations have a real benefit.

References made to the extension of the tourist season are usually vague and almost always lack necessary targeting. So, there is a need for a definition for the extension of the tourist season and as such I propose: “The period during which tourism businesses operate with a minimum profit and with a level of occupancy that maintains more than half of the employees of the high season”. The levels of profitability and employment are approached on a case-by-case basis and obviously, they cannot be applied universally to all destinations, because for example, the island of Rhodes compared to the island of Thassos are in different development stages and operate with different seasonality patterns.

Let’s give an example: my recent research on Santorini concluded that: in order to extend the tourist season within the period of the next five (5) years, two (2) more months of operation can be set as a target period. In other words, Santorini should have a “full” tourist season of eight (8) months, with one condition: the turnover of the first and last month of the tourist season should be, on average, at least 65% of the turnover of August. If these goals are achieved, then yes, we talk seriously about the extension of the tourist season in Santorini. However, if two (2) charters depart in mid-November and the tourists had paid for a package in a special offer, this, under no circumstances, can be considered an “extension of the summer season”.

Conclusion: when referring to the extension of the tourist season, targeting is an absolute “must”: the duration (in days/weeks/months), the level of income during the extension period compared to the peak of the season (usually August) and, ideally, the employment level as well. Any reference to the term «extension of the tourist season» (i.e. “we succeeded in extending the season”), without being accompanied by goal setting and measurable results, constitutes a superficial approach to tourism policy.