Senior Tourists in Greece Spent €2 Billion in 2016

Study suggests Greece tap into 65+ travel with new products

Promoting innovative products for seniors is key to attracting more tourists from the 65+ age group – who have both more time and money – to Greece, found a recent study released by SETE Intelligence (IΝSETE) – the Greek Tourism Confederation’s (SETE) research body – in collaboration with tourism marketing consultants IPK International.

According to IΝSETE findings, in 2016 seniors accounted for 6.1 percent of all trips to Greece, include cruises at 1.7 million, 16.5 million overnight stays (or 8.5 percent of the total) and almost 2 billion euros in tourism-related revenues.

“The market for senior travelers is substantial and wealthy and given the demographic trends, it is also very dynamic on a global level,” said IΝSETE research director Aris Ikkos.

“Adapting the Greek tourist product to their needs and demands will allow us to tap into the natural and cultural wealth of our country, while at the same time extend the season and increase revenues,” he said.

Older vacationers from European markets accounted for 93 percent of visits, 93 percent of overnight stays and 76 percent of spending, while non-European over-65s accounted for 7 percent of visits, 7 percent of overnight stays and 24 percent of revenues.

Greece was the 7th most popular destination in European markets in 2016 and ranked 10th among non-European markets.

The UK with 404,000, or 25 percent of travel, 27 percent of overnight stays and 28 percent of spending; Germany at 336,000, and France at 238,000 were Greece’s leading source markets in Europe in 2016.

In terms of non-EU markets, the US accounted for 49 percent of travel, 58 percent of overnight stays and 43 percent of spending at 202,677 euros.

According to the IΝSETE report, 35.9 million senior travelers visited European holiday destinations in 2016 accounting for 344.8 million overnight stays while spending a total of 41 billion euros with an average budget per trip at 1,142 euros, and per day at 119 euros.