Greeks To Spend More On Travel In 2014

Greeks are planning to spend more money on trips this year, a new study has found.

According to the latest edition of Tripadvisor’s “TripBarometer,” which monitors travelers intentions, 13 percent of Greeks are planning to spend more money on travel in 2014, while 51 percent of Greek hoteliers believe the national economy will negatively impact them.

The study showed that 12 percent of Greeks are more confident about the economy and that 75 percent of Greek hoteliers are confident about business profitability in 2014. Also, 35 percent of Greek hoteliers said they would raise their room rates in 2014 compared to 52 percent of global hoteliers.

Reviews & price are essential

Tripadvisor’s study revealed that traveler feedback plays a key role in the travel cycle as 90 percent of Greek travelers said reviews are influential when choosing where to book. Global travelers said their choice of holiday is influenced by online travel reviews (65 percent) and personal recommendations (48 percent).

The study also referred to striking contrasts in 2014 booking trends as the vast majority (98 percent) of Greek travelers said price is important when booking an accommodation. Meanwhile, only 63 percent of Greek hoteliers say price has the biggest impact when travelers book.

“Travelers are upping their budgets but they are looking for bargains, expecting their accommodation of choice to deliver on value. Special offers, complimentary amenities and exceptional service are all going to be important factors in swaying potential guests,” said Marc Charron, President, TripAdvisor for Business.

Important to global travelers when choosing an accommodation are special offers (44 percent), amenities (77 percent), previous experience (86 percent) and online travel reviews (89 percent). The survey pointed out that hoteliers on a global level underestimate how positive experiences contribute to repeat bookings.

Free and emerging amenities are influencing bookings

According to Tripadvisor, free breakfast is the most important accommodation amenity for Greek travelers when deciding on where to stay, followed by free Wi-Fi and free parking at the hotel.

Moreover, Greece is among the top five destinations with the highest average international travelers. According to hoteliers, destinations with the highest percentage of international travelers is Morocco (87 percent), the Caribbean (75 percent), Thailand (75 percent), Austria (72 percent) and Greece (68 percent).
The destinations with the highest average domestic travelers are the United States (86 percent), Australia (81 percent), Japan (79 percent), Brazil (78 percent) and Russia (77 percent).

Other interesting finds are:
– Europe (46 percent) tops the list of places global travelers plan to visit in the next 12-24 months.
– the U.S. topped the list as the dream destination for travelers from Greece, Israel, and Spain.
– when booking travel, women care more about free shuttle services while men care more about the hotel bar.
– only 14 percent of global travelers consider the mini-bar an important amenity, and 63 percent of global travelers have already done away with the mini-bar.
– 16 percent of global hoteliers have added staff who speak foreign languages.

For more information, check out the Greek infographic.

The TripBarometer surveyed 61,000 travelers and hoteliers around the world from 14 February to 10 March 2014.