Industry Reports & Trends

Because Russians are just now emerging as serious tourists, and because Greece could attract them with the right strategy, the Institute of Tourism Research and Forecasts urges the government here to open information centers and meeting points for tourists in several major Russian cities.

Tourists visiting Greece will increase by 7.5 percent in 2005, exceeding 13.5 million this year and 14 million in 2006, according to a National Bank of Greece (NBG) report released last month.

The travel industry continues its move to increased online marketing, as twice as many companies as last year plan to spend 20 percent more of their marketing budget online, according to a new survey by New York University’s Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management and PhoCusWright Inc.

Four in 10 online travel shoppers have shopped an online travel agency site, but ultimately purchased direct from a supplier, according to a new report published by PhoCusWright Inc. This behavior is more pronounced for air than any other segment. Findings from the newly released The PhoCusWright Consumer Travel Trends Survey Seventh Edition, which surveys “online travelers” in the U.S., found that nearly half of online travel shoppers have looked at online travel agencies but ultimately purchased direct from an airline (either through the call center or Web site). That compares to three out of 10 who have shopped online travel agencies but ultimately purchased direct from a hotel or car rental company.

Tourism arrivals in Greece are set to rise by 5 to 7 percent this year, according to estimates by the Institute of Tourism Research and Forecasts. In its latest “Economy and Tourism” report, ITEP predicts that in 2005 foreign tourist arrivals will rise by 5 to 6 percent over last year.

Arrivals in Athens may have increased in the first quarter of 2005, according to Athens International Airport data, but the Attica Hoteliers’ Association released data last month that show hotel occupancy rates down by an average 4.4 percent against the same quarter of last year.

As business travel continues a slow rebound, travel agents appear to be picking up a bigger slice of the business, according to the 2005 National Business Travel Monitor.

The average Greek will take two weeks’ holiday this summer, most during the month of August, at a total cost of about 1,300 euros, according to an annual tourism survey released last month.

Greek tourism recorded a net revenue gain of 7.4 billion euros in 2003, according to the official Eurostat data published last month in Brussels. The revenue from tourists who visited Greece came to 9.6 billion euros in 2003, while Greek tourists spent around 2.2 billion euros abroad. Greece’s net revenue in its tourism balance is the fourth greatest among the 25 EU members, behind Spain with 29.5 billion euros, France (11.6 billion euros) and Italy (9.4 billion euros).

There is something really wrong in Athens. The country’s capital has been on the positive side of world news for months now, and almost everyone you talk to abroad say they want to visit the city, yet latest reports reveal that Athens hotel occupancy rates continue to fall to levels where it’s difficult for a unit to break even.