“Just for one day, just for shopping!” said Daniela from Serbia hurriedly, and then left quickly for the commercial Tsimiski street to continue exploring the shops in Thessaloniki. Since the second fortnight of July, Thessaloniki’s city market has turned into the “Babel” of the Balkans, as thousands of tourists from Serbia, Russia, Bulgaria, Romania and FYROM cross the town’s shopping streets, giving “breath” to the market of Thessaloniki.
“Prices are very low, especially now because of the discounts, and we can find clothes and shoes at an unbelievable price,” explain enthusiastically Nina and Lara, two sisters from Belgrade, while doing their shopping. Over the last two years, the Balkan tourists have become the best customers of the market, as, according to data of the Commercial Association of Thessaloniki, they contribute to 25% of the turnover of shops.
“It would not be an exaggeration to say that in some cases Balkan tourists are the sole customers in our shops,” says Evangelia Marocou, a saleswoman at a Thessaloniki central home store. This is the reason why more and more shop owners are investing more in training their staff in the Balkan languages.
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