TUI Says Austrian Vacationers Have a Soft Spot for Greece

Turkey move over, Greece now leads Austrian travelers’ holiday destination choices, according to a survey carried out by international tour group TUI and presented in Vienna recently.

“Greece is this year the big winner for tourism in Austria, even if the booking levels for vacation on some islands of the Eastern Aegean is not as high as before,” TUI’s Austrian branch said during a presentation of poll results gauging tourism trends conducted in six European countries.

Austria has traditionally been a leading market for Greek tourism with some 400,000 Austrians taking their holidays in Greece annually. According to TUI, Greece now comes first in their preferences, pushing Turkey to fifth spot.

Speaking at the same event, a representative for local tour operator Gruber-reisen said that one in four Austrian travelers are choosing Greece as their  vacation spot this year.

At the same time, tour group Ruefa – with more than 120 offices across Austria – said Greece is second among its clients’ choices with bookings to Eastern Aegean islands dropping by 15-20 percent due to the refugee influx.

In the meantime, Crete, Rhodes, Mykonos, Zakynthos and Corfu are still favorites, up by 30 percent.

Further findings indicate that 90 percent of Austrians travel to Greece by air, 80 percent of whom with direct flights to their summer holiday destination.