Greek Tourism Trends 2007

Kapa Research, a subsidiary of the Kalofolias group, recently announced the results for present trends in Greek tourism. The survey shows the realization of a holiday is still a major priority for the Greek traveler who, as a rule, chooses domestic destinations over international.

The results show the majority of Greeks have had a holiday at least once in 2006 although the percentage of Greeks traveling abroad still remains low. This tendency is steadily increasing and the 2006 result, bordering on 90%, is the highest since 2002 when the figure was closer to 89%.

The opposite is true for travelers opting for foreign destinations as the result shows a more obvious decline. One possible reason cited for this is the Greek preference to reside in private country homes. Hotels and pensions are a second choice. There has been an increase, however, in choosing the latter as more and more travelers opt for these alternatives.

The average duration of summer holidays is two weeks although it ranges from ten days to more than a month. There is a growth in the percentage of travelers who claim they will have longer and more comfortable holidays in 2007.

Travelers in the survey believe priorities in the development of tourism in Greece should be the upgrading of tourist services, the cleanliness of popular destinations and the conduct of locals towards tourists. The Cyclades and Peloponessos remain as top destinations followed closely by Crete, the Ionian Islands and Chalkidiki.

The above study took place between April 17 and 18, and included responses from 892 housewives in the Attica-Thessaloniki area. In reply as to whether or not Greece’s tourism development minister, Fanni Palli-Petralia, has done a positive job in the past year, 57.8% of the housewives said yes.

Separately, a survey conducted by the Institute of Tourism Research and Forecast shows that Greek tourism is expected to grow by six to seven per cent this year and that 2006 was the second consecutive good year for tourism since the Olympic Games. In addition, a recent Eurostat survey showed that in 2005, Greece had 41 million overnights of foreign arrivals.