In the heart of the summer season Travel is an outlet For the majority. The financial data may be bad, but most people are trying to save money that can be used for a few days of relaxation. The analysis of trips in Greece and abroad reveals many interesting features such as motivations, destinations, preferred activities, means of transport, booking methods and accommodation preferences.
(INSETE) on the topic of “How Greeks Travel” conducted on a sample of 35,000+ people aged 16-64 (residents of Greece) analyzed the quality characteristics of trips in Greece and abroad.
According to the data, beach holidays are chosen by travelers within the border and city trips by those who choose to cross the border, while hotels remain the preferred type of accommodation.
Entertainment, the most frequent purpose of travel
The data shows that the main reason for the travel of Greeks inside and outside the country is leisure, at a rate of almost 60%, followed by visiting relatives and friends at 18%.
Although leisure is the most common purpose of domestic and international travel, the type of travel varies greatly. Therefore, while outside the country city travel dominates 50%, within the country the dominant type of trip is sea/beach holidays with 45%. Sightseeing is the second most frequent type of travel at 32%, both domestically and internationally.
In further analysis above abroad, the three most popular destinations are Italy (17%), Germany (11%) and France (9%). Inside, the three most popular destinations are Attica and Central Greece-Evia (21%), Macedonia (19%) and the Peloponnese (14%), ie destinations easily accessible by car.
The Internet is the main source of information
Travelers use a variety of information sources to plan their trips, both for overseas and domestic destinations. The Internet is the main source of information, with 65% of travelers using it for trips abroad and 57% for trips within the country.
For international travel, hotel and accommodation booking websites such as booking.com and expedia.com are used by 48% of travelers to find and book accommodation. Hotel or accommodation websites are used by 30% of travelers to find information and make direct reservations. Review sites like Tripadvisor are popular with 40% of travelers looking for reviews and experiences from other guests. Flight and other travel deals websites such as skyscanner.com attract 43% of travelers looking for the best prices and deals for their travel
For domestic travel, review websites are used by 32% of travelers and hotel and accommodation booking websites by 53%. Hotel or accommodation websites are particularly popular, with 34% of travelers using them to find and book accommodation.
Reservations and travel services
Analyzing the reservations, the majority of Greeks continue to pre-book, with foreign travelers showing a higher percentage of 80% compared to 71% of domestic travelers . In online booking the picture is very different between local and foreign. Foreign travelers show a higher percentage of online bookings with 69% compared to 39% of domestic travelers. In contrast, domestic travelers do not choose online booking with a percentage reaching 61% compared to 31% of foreign travelers.
Regarding travel services for domestic and foreign flights, we observed great differences in travelers’ preferences. The differences between the bookings reflect the different needs and circumstances associated with the type of travel. For international travel, 52% of reservations concern accommodation, while for domestic travel the percentage is lower at 28%. Regarding flights, 29% of bookings correspond to international travel compared to only 7% for domestic travel. In ferry or boat travel, 14% of bookings for domestic travel are higher than 2% for international travel. Car rentals have the same rate between international (5%) and domestic (5%) trips.
Type of accommodation
According to the results of the survey, travelers use the internet to make various travel-related bookings, both domestically and internationally. The most popular bookings are for flights, with 65% of international travelers booking flights online compared to 14% for domestic travel.
Hotels are the most popular choice for all types of travel, although for domestic travel the percentage drops to 52% compared to 64% for international travel. Short-term rentals are more popular for domestic travel (22%) than for international travel (16%). In addition, free hospitality is more preferred on domestic trips (21%) than on international trips (15%).
In the general analysis of accommodation options, the data reveals a clear preference for 4 and 3 star hotels
According to the results of the research on the choice of accommodation through short-term rental platforms, travelers show different preferences depending on their destination. In particular, for trips abroad, 33% of travelers choose accommodation from platforms. On the contrary, for trips within the country, the corresponding percentage is lower, only 20%.