Sojern: Greece Attracting Interest from European and Middle Eastern Travelers

As a number of European countries begin to ease their lockdown restrictions, some travelers are already looking at the potential of a holiday in Greece during Q3, according to digital travel solutions provider Sojern.

Citing its recent data, Sojern said travel intent to Greece seems to be highest, in particular, from within Europe as well as the Middle East.

Although major improvements begin to show in 2021, Sojern said that half of all Greek searches from the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and over a third of searches from Western Europe, are for travel to Greece in 2020 Q3.

“Greece has done incredibly well when it comes to their Covid-19 response. Due to early lockdowns, they’ve limited the number of fatalities. Should this trend continue, the Greek government is planning to reopen to tourists in July,” Sojern said, noting that the extent of the country’s reopening will depend on airline availability and frequency.

Flight searches inbound Greece by region

Source: Sojern

Greece is currently in the process of easing its lockdown restrictions. On Monday, May 18, it will enter its third stage, which includes easing restrictions for travel throughout the mainland and to the islands of  Crete and Evia (only by road) and the opening of archaeological sites. Travel to all of the Greek islands is expected to be allowed from May 25.

According to the Greek government, if all goes well, the country expects to open for tourists in July.

With its data, Sojern aims to provide some insight into how travelers are responding to the pandemic, the more long-term impact that Covid-19 will have on destinations, and when the first signs of recovery will start to appear.

Sojern’s insights are based on over 350 million traveler profiles and billions of travel intent signals. However, it does not capture 100 percent of the travel market.

“As some European countries begin to ease their lockdown restrictions, we are seeing slight upticks in domestic and even regional travel intent,” Sojern said.