Greek hotel sector grapples with 36,000 vacant jobs

An annual survey by ITEP found that more than 36,000 positions in Greece’s hotel industry remained unfilled last season. About 26,600 vacancies were in seasonal hotels and roughly 9,600 in year‑round establishments. The shortages span support services, administration, sales, marketing, IT and front‑desk roles, with smaller gaps in housekeeping and kitchens.

Geographically, the South Aegean, Crete, the Ionian Islands and Macedonia‑Thrace together account for nearly 70% of the total vacancies, reflecting the concentration of hotel capacity in those regions. However, on a proportional basis the highest vacancy rates are observed in smaller tourism areas such as Central Greece (outside Athens), Epirus‑Thessaly, the Peloponnese and the Ionian Islands, where a limited labour pool hampers recruitment.

Hotel owners also cite rising energy and operating costs and competition from short‑term rental platforms as secondary challenges, but staffing remains the sector’s most pressing issue.