Drink-free Holidays: Greece One of the Most Popular Destinations for Teetotal Travelers

Greece is among the world’s most popular destinations for teetotal travelers, those who practice a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from alcohol, according to a survey published recently by luxury tour operator Kuoni.

The survey, conducted in December 2022 with the participation of over 1,000 adults, was inspired by the “Dry January” phenomenon when many people, following a Christmas holiday overindulgence, decide to take an alcohol-free, month-long challenge.

The challenge, according to Kuoni, goes viral every year with dry January having over 86 million views on TikTok alone, while many also decide to start the challenge earlier during the holiday season, with #Alcoholfreeholidays hitting over 105,000 views on TikTok.

The results of the survey showed that Greece is the 8^th most popular world destination choice for a booze-free trip, offering a wide variety of sightseeing choices, sandy beaches and hiking/walking tours.

US is 1^st on the list, while Turkey is in 2^nd place, followed by Italy, Spain, and Australia.

The survey gives a wider insight regarding alcohol consumption, holidays and travel such as:

– A third of younger travelers (36 percent) aged between 16-24 report feeling pressured to drink on holiday.

– A fifth of travelers (21 percent) feel pressure to have a drink at the airport and more than one in four (27 percent) feel pressure to drink on holiday.

– Sightseeing, daytrips and shopping were the most popular holiday activities amongst teetotalers surveyed.

– London is the most popular city to visit for an alcohol-free break within the UK.

According to a 2016 report by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Health Observatory, over 85 percent of North African and Middle Eastern countries’ adult population have never consumed alcohol in their lives.

In Greece, only 15 percent of people over 15 years old have never consumed alcohol, while the country’s annual alcohol consumption per person was 10.18 liters in 2018, just below EU’s 11.44 liters average.