Report Profiles Incoming Tourists to Greece in 2015-2016

Athens, Greece.

The majority of tourists visiting Greece in 2015 and 2016 opted to pre-book their holidays, with one in three choosing to stay in 4-star hotels, according to the latest study released by SETE Intelligence (INSETE) — the Greek Tourism Confederation’s (SETE) research body — in collaboration with tourism marketing consultants IPK International.

According to the report titled “The Profile of Incoming Holiday Tourism in Greece 2015-2016” and carried out via questionnaire on 500,000 travelers in 60 countries (Albania, Cyprus and FYRoM excluded), 19.7 million tourists visited Greece in 2015, the figure rising in 2016 by 6.5 percent to 21.0 million, the majority of whom were women at 54.2 percent in 2015 and 51.6 percent in 2016.

The majority of overall visitors to Greece had a higher educational background, were aged between 35 and 64, had pre-booked (90.9 percent το 2015 and 92.6 percent το 2016) and opted to stay in hotels of all categories with 4-star units topping the list.

A total of 17.6 million European tourists aged 35-64 visited Greece in 2015, rising by 8 percent to 19.0 million in 2016. The majority had pre-booked their holidays (90.3 percent in 2015 and 92.1 percent in 2016).

The number of non-European tourists who visited Greece in 2015 came to 2.1 million, dropping in 2016 by 6.5 percent to 2.0 million. Again the majority had pre-booked (97.0 percent in 2015 and 98.2 percent in 2016). The age groups in this category was younger between 15 and 34.

At the same time, a total of 796,000 US travelers in the 35-64 age bracket, or 38 percent of non-Europeans, came to Greece on holiday in 2015, with the figure rising by 3.3 percent to 822,000 in 2016. Almost all (99.7 percent in 2015 and 100 percent in 2016) had made reservations in advance.