Virtuoso: Greece a Top Pick for World’s Luxury Travel Lovers

Elounda Beach Hotel and Villas. Photo source: Elounda Beach Hotel and Villas.

Greece is among the world’s leading luxury travel spots this summer, according to data released this week by luxury travel experts Virtuoso.

Leading the way as the most sought-after vacation destination among affluent globetrotters is the United States.

More specifically, the annual study placed Greece among the world’s leading destinations for luxury travelers. The list also includes the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Ireland, Croatia and the Caribbean.

The Virtuoso team assessed more than 63.6 billion dollars worth of transactions before identifying the highest in demand vacation destinations for high spending travelers.

Elounda Bay, Crete.

Following the US in the Top 5 is Italy, France and Spain (Europe), and Canada. Next on the Top 10 list are the UK, Greece, Ireland, Switzerland and Portugal.

The Virtuoso report comes after the “Holiday Habits Luxury Travelers Guide 2023” released last week by Condé Nast Johansens which also placed Greece among the world’s Top 10 luxury destinations this summer.

According to Virtuoso’s annual report presented last year at the 34th Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas, Greece was among the Top 5 countries in the world attracting luxury travelers who spend on average 20 times more than regular tourists.

Domes Aulus Elounda. Photo source: Domes Aulus Elounda.

Other key study takeaways include:

-travelers are choosing lesser-known destinations such as the surf town Biarritz, France, the wine region of Rioja, Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way and parts of Spain. Among these the Greek town of Elounda on the the island of Crete.

– London is still popular winning travelers over with dozens of high-profile summer events, including Wimbledon on July 13-16, BBC Proms (July 19-September 9), and Fashion Week (September 15-19).

– bookings for 2023 are 91 percent higher than in 2019 leading into 2020 and 62 percent higher than in 2022

Elounda Gulf villas. Photo source: Elounda Gulf Villas.

– bookings for Virtuoso partner hotels are 193 percent higher than in 2019 and 77 percent in 2022

– average luxury hotel rates per day (ADR) this summer come to nearly 1,700 dollars per night, up by 69 percent over 2019

– demand for luxury cruising is up by 55 percent compared to 2019.

Citing the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report study which found that the target market of high-value travelers is expected to grow by 34 percent, exceeding 62 million worldwide over the next five years, Virtuoso analysts expect a “bright future” ahead.