Austrians Fly To Greece This Year, Survey

Crises may come and go, but Greece remains the destination of choice for the average Austrian traveler, according to a recent survey released by market research agency GfK Austria on behalf of Austrian Airlines.

Around one-in-eight Austrians (12 percent) said they would travel to Greece on holiday this year, while 10 percent said they would choose Spain and nine percent prefer to travel long-haul to the U.S., the U.K. and Turkey.

“The results of this survey do surprise me a little. They do not simply confirm the cliché of the lazy holidaymaker interested primarily in sun and sand,” said Karsten Benz of Austrian Airlines responsible for destinations.

According to 1,000 Austrians that were interviewed for the survey, the main motive for traveling is culture and not only “sun and sand.” 42 percent of survey participants said they wanted to visit “culturally valuable tourism attractions,” with “holiday by the sea” coming in second place with 37 percent, ahead of “long-distance travel,” with 24 percent. “This means one-in-four Austrians want to take a long-distance journey,” Austrian Airlines said.

“In terms of destinations, we have already reacted to the results and increased our schedule of flights to Greece, Spain and the U.S.,” Ms. Benz said.