Arrivals at Greek Hotels, Campsites up 1.3% in 2019

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More travelers to Greece opted for hotel and campsite stays in 2019, which recorded a 1.3 percent increase in the number of arrivals compared to a year earlier, according to final data released on Friday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

ELSTAT’s survey on “Arrivals and Nights Spent in Hotels, Similar Establishments and Tourist Campsites” also revealed a 0.1 percent decline in the number of nights spent in the period under review.

Non-residents vs Residents

A closer look at the data indicates a 1.7 percent increase in the number of arrivals and a 0.2 percent decrease in the number of nights spent by non-residents. Arrivals by residents increased by 0.5 percent as did the number of nights spent up by 0.2 percent.

Hotels and similar establishments (excluding tourist campsites) recorded a 48.7 percent occupancy rate in 2019 against 50.6 percent in 2018.

The bulk of arrivals (85.6 percent) and overnight stays (92.3 percent) in 2019 was recorded between April and October.

Destinations in the lead

Leading the way in terms of arrivals for these forms of accommodation were the South Aegean Region accounting for 4.2 percent of arrivals and 2.5 percent of nights spent, followed by Attica with 1.9 percent in arrivals and 0.8 percent in nights spent.

Photo source: Visit Greece / Y. Skoulas

On the downside, the island of Crete saw arrivals drop by 1.7 percent and nights spent by 3.6 percent. Arrivals were also down in the Peloponnese by 3.1 percent and nights spent by 2.7 percent.

Non-residents accounted for the largest share of arrivals (72.7 percent) and nights spent (84.1 percent) in hotels, similar establishments and tourist campsites in 2019.

Key source markets for the accommodation segment under review in 2019 were Germany accounting for 13.9 percent of arrivals and 18.1 percent of nights spent, the UK (13.8 percent – arrivals, 17.0 percent -nights spent), France (7.7 percent – arrivals, 6.5 percent – nights spent), Italy (4.7 percent – arrivals, 4.1 percent – nights spent) and Poland (3.8 percent – arrivals, 4.6 percent – nights spent).