No Increase Expected in Domestic Travel this Year

This year’s Tourist Panorama got off to a flying start with attendance at the inauguration ceremonies at a record high. Special guests included Tourism Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos and the mayors of all the 2004 Olympic cities. But the domestic tourism fair had to confront the fact that at least one in three Greek holidaymakers will not spend time away from home this summer.

Hoteliers that count on a substantial rise in domestic travel this year because of the Games may be disappointed. According to research released last month by Greece’s major consumer protection group, at least one in three Greeks has no intention of taking the traditional summer holiday this year, mainly to save money. The Consumer Institute (INKA) said a total of 36 percent of respondents in a poll it carried out said they would be staying home this summer.

Some 71 percent said they could not afford to go on holiday, 19 percent said they had too much work and 8 percent cited family commitments. But even of those who had plans to leave home during the summer, 44 percent proposed heading for their own second home in the countryside, while 29 percent intended to stay with family or friends. Only 27 percent said they would be lodging in a hotel or in rented rooms.

Most (36 percent) said they would take a 10-day holiday. Some 31 percent proposed going away for two weeks, while 7 percent had plans for a 20-day holiday. Only 4 percent said they intended to travel abroad. Out of those who had picked domestic destinations, over 81 percent said they would head for the seaside.