The “sun and sea” concept dominates the preferences of European tourists who visit Greece, however, development margins are great in specific forms of tourism, such as city breaks and cultural or religious tourism.
This conclusion follows from IPK’s “2013 World Travel Monitor” survey which was presented at the 14th Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) conference by the scientific director of SETE Intelligence Dr. Aris Ikkos.
European tourists profile
According to the analysis, Greece has reached an 8.5% share in the “sun and sea” product market, compared to only 1.1% in City Breaks and 2.4% in the market segment of those traveling chiefly motivated by culture and religion.
As relevant 2013 data show, the profile of European tourists in Greece can be outlined as follows:
– Over 81% of tourists who come for sun and sea belong to the middle and upper income bracket and 54% belong to the upper class. The respective percentages of middle and upper income visitors who come for city breaks is 78% and for cultural or religious tourism 81%.
Most affluent
– The most affluent European tourists who visited the country in 2013 came from France and Turkey and about 71% of those belonged to upper income categories.
– 79% of Russians, 69% of Turks and 50% of Germans who visited Greece have a top education.
Average expenditure
– Average expenditure per trip by Europeans in our country in 2013 amounted to 1,001 euros. The most generous spenders were Russians, Belgians, Germans, Scandinavians and Dutch.
– The “sun and sea” element attracted 98% of Serbs, 97% of Poles and 87% of Russians but only 33% of the French
Greek cuisine
– Greek cuisine attracted mainly the Turks (78%), the British (75%) and the Belgians (74%)
-Local sights and monuments are particularly popular with Russians (66%), French (64%) and Turks (63%).
– 73 % of the Turks but only 11% of the Poles and 14% of the British were mainly interested in shopping.
