Athens Hotels Score High for Covid-19 Safety Measures

The Acropolis in Athens. Photo: GTP

Despite the challenging circumstances caused by the coronaviris (Covid-19) pandemic, Athens hotels scored high for safety in 2020, a GBR survey reveals.

In its “16th Survey on Guest Satisfaction and Hotel Performance in Attica 2020” released earlier this week, GBR found that “the organized efforts of Athens’ hoteliers to maintain the [Covid-19] measures and offer a safe stay, made both Greek and international travelers feel very safe in their hotel, rating their stay with 8.9/10 and 9.2/10 points, respectively”.

Broken down, the data shows that British travelers rated safety in Athens’ hotels higher than other nationalities with 9.4/10 points.

They were followed by French visitors with 8.9/10 points and Germans with 8.8/10 points.

Travelers consider Athens a safe destination

According to the survey, which was conducted August-October 2020, the majority of travelers considered Athens a safe destination amid the pandemic: 75 percent said they had visited the Greek capital for holidays and felt safe during their walks in the city, rating the experience with 8+ points.

A significant number of leisure travelers – 43 percent – coming from European markets such as Germany, France and the UK, said they had specifically chosen Athens for holidays because they considered it a safe destination.

The percentage was higher – at 60 percent – among travelers of the 15-25 age group.

International travelers said “they felt well informed” about the measures applied in Greece against Covid-19, with a score of 7.6/10 points. The survey showed that the age group over 55 was better informed possibly due to their vulnerability and wish to feel safe wherever they travel.

Travelers from abroad also said that Covid-19 measures did not affect their experience in Athens (score 7.3).

On the other hand, Greek travelers said their experience was affected by safety regulations (score 6.9).

Temple of Zeus, Athens. Photo: GTP

The overall satisfaction score of Athens increased from 8.1/10 percent in 2019 to 8.2/10 percent last year.

Travelers rated the city’s culture with 8.7/10 points, behavior of locals with 8.4 points, airport access with 8.4  points and leisure & and safety with 7.4 points.

The lowest scores were for public transport (6.5/10), squares and sidewalks (6.3) and cleanliness (6 points).

The majority of visitors – 97 percent – said they would return to Athens because “there are many more things to see” (77 percent) and would recommend the city to others (98 percent).

Travelers also said they were satisfied by the price-quality ratio. It is noted that the average daily expenditure in the city remained unchanged compared to 2018 and 2019 at 115 euros per person.