Greeks Holidaying Less Due to Crisis?

Greeks took fewer holidays and cut their vacation period short in 2015, according to the latest data released by the country’s statistical authority ELSTAT, costing the local tourism industry up to 121 million euros in takings.

According to ELSTAT’s holiday report, the number of trips were down by 8.2 percent to 5.81 million last year with the number of people traveling reduced by 4.6 percent to 3.48 million. Meanwhile, overnight stays fell by 10.2 percent to 57.44 million and spending came to 1.71 billion euros, down by 6.6 percent, against 2014. Of the total number of trips, 93.8 percent were for personal reasons and 6.2 percent for business.

According to ELSTAT findings, Greeks cite increased tax and other obligations as the reason for cutting their holidays short, with the largest reduction marked among those aged 25-44, who made 11.9 percent fewer trips in 2015 and spent 14.6 percent less compared to 2014.

The majority of holidaymakers traveled by road or sea, still down by 10.4 percent and 9.8 percent respectively in 2015 against the previous year.