ForwardKeys: Greece Among World’s Leading Tourism Destinations
Greece is among the best performing tourism destinations in the world and the only European country making it into the global ranking, according to the latest report released by travel intelligence provider ForwardKeys.
More specifically, according to the “Global Travel Trends 2023” report released this week, Greece ranks 9th in the Top 10 best performing destinations globally while managing in 2023 to exceed by 3 percent pre-pandemic 2019 international arrival figures.
ForwardKeys analysts assessed international tourist arrivals in 2023, including bookings recorded in the fourth quarter (Q4) of the year. Based on bookings and planned seats to the end of 2023, Greece also ranks 3rd in terms of air arrivals and is expected to exceed 2019 levels by the end of the year. In this category, Greece is once again the only European country making it into the Top 10 ranking.
In terms of the rate of recovery in 2023 compared to 2019, Greece ranks 4th, marking a 3 percent rise over pre-Covid 2019. The Top 10 countries are the Dominican Republic in first place, followed by Columbia, Mexico, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Egypt.
According to the Global Travel Trends 2023 survey, the Caribbean is the top destination of choice for tourists this year and home to seven of the 10 most visited destinations in the world. The Dominican Republic ranks first, increasing visitor numbers by 14 percent compared to 2019, followed by Costa Rica and Aruba (+11 percent), Jamaica and Puerto Rico (+9 percent), Columbia and Mexico (+5 percent), the Bahamas and Greece (+3 percent), and lastly, Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, ForwardKeys analysts are forecasting that global air traffic this year will still be down by 25 percent on 2019 levels.
“In 2023, many destinations and travel businesses remained focused on recovery post-Covid-19. The speed of that recovery has varied by region, but by the end of 2024, it will be complete, even for those countries that lifted travel restrictions most recently. ‘Growth at all costs’ is no longer viable. Destinations and travel businesses need to focus on new models of tourism which are socially, economically and environmentally responsible,” said Olivier Ponti, vice president of ForwardKeys – Insights.
He went on to add that in view of another year to be marked by strong demand, the key question for the travel industry should be how effective DMOs and industry professionals will be in attracting the appropriate traveler segments to meet their objectives for sustainable growth.