ETC: European Destinations Break All Records, Greece Gains Ground

Destinations across Europe are top travel choices marking an 8 percent rise in the number of tourist arrivals compared to 2016, with Greece recording a 10.3 percent increase, according to a European Travel Commission (ETC) report issued on Tuesday.

Titled “European Tourism 2017 – Trends & Prospects”, the survey found that almost all monitored destinations recorded rises in tourist arrivals with more than half growing in excess of 10 percent, while Europe as a whole welcomed a total of 671 million travelers, making it the world’s Number 1 tourist destination in 2017 for the eighth consecutive year and accounting for more than half of the global market share.

More specifically, Turkey showed signs of recovery marking a 28 percent rise in visitor arrivals with growth largely driven by Russian outbound flows (465.2 percent).

Iceland is the fastest-growing destination since 2012 at 24 percent, while Montenegro saw a 19 percent rise, followed by Serbia at 18 percent, Malta at 16 percent, Slovenia and Cyprus at 15 percent. Chinese and Indian travelers boosted Finland by 14 percent, while popular summer destinations also saw figures rise: Croatia by 14 percent, Portugal by 12 percent and Spain by 9 percent.

Besides a 10.3 percent increase in tourism traffic over the January-September 2017 period, Greece also marked a 9.6 percent rise in overnight stays. Occupancy growth rates increased by 4.8 percent to 72.3 percent in 2017, while average daily rates grew by 7 percent (ADR at 119.7 euros) and revenue per available room was stronger by 12.2 percent (RevPAR at 86.5 euros).

Established in 1948, the European Travel Commission is an association of national tourism organizations.