Hotels See Decline in Overnight Stays of Greeks

Photo source: Visit Greece/Y.Skoulas

Foreign tourist overnights in Greek hotels increased during January–September 2018, while overnights by Greeks dropped

The number of arrivals, overnight stays and average number of nights spent by Greeks in hotels, similar establishments and tourist campsites in Greece, dropped during the first nine months of 2018, compared to the same period last year, while the number of international arrivals and overnight stays showed an increase, according to provisional data released recently by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

According to ELSTAT’s survey on arrivals and nights spent in Greek hotels, similar establishments and tourist campsites for the January–September 2018 period, the arrivals of guests, for all types of establishments, amounted to 19,139,345, while the nights spent amounted to 80,840,438. The corresponding arrivals for the same period of 2017 amounted to 18,350,997, while the nights spent amounted to 79,390,273 (Tables 1 and 2, Graph 2). During the January–September 2018 period, the largest share of arrivals and nights spent in hotels, similar establishments and tourist campsites, was recorded by non-residents, i.e. 75.1 percent of arrivals and 85.6 percent of nights spent (Graph 3).

For the same period, the average number of nights spent per person amounted to 4.2 nights. ELSTAT’s dats showed that the average number of nights spent was 4.8 nights for non-residents and 2.4 nights for Greek residents (Graph 4). The average number of nights spent, for the same period of 2017, was 4.3 nights and in particular, 5.0 for non-residents and 2.5 for Greek residents.

The total occupancy of bed places in hotels and similar establishments (excluding tourist campsites), which is based on the nights spent compared to the bed places that were in operation, amounted to 57 percent during January–September 2018, compared with 56.3 percent in the corresponding period of 2017 (Table 3, Graph 5).