The tourist boom and its consequences eKathimerini.com

Few Greeks doubt the importance of tourism to the country’s economy. As the numbers skyrocket and much of the investment activity is dedicated to that sector, whether in new hotels and holiday villas, or apartment blocks of short-term rental units, however, they are becoming increasingly alarmed at the impact that all this has on the environment, but also on the identity of the destinations that are being affected the most.

Another very real concern is that holidays in Greece are becoming less and less affordable for Greeks.

These are some of the key findings made in the third major nationwide survey conducted by polling firm Pulse for Kathimerini and specifically for the newspaper’s Reimagine Tourism in Greece initiative.

The Reimagine Tourism initiative was officially launched last year and is planning a major event in October that aims to improve dialogue between stakeholders and stakeholders in the movement – ​​the state, grassroots and businesses – with the aim of exploring and promoting a paradigm new for tourism, which will strengthen the economic benefits for the country, while protecting the natural environment and the identity of tourist destinations.

As this is the third such survey, comparing and contrasting the responses with previous ones complements and confirms trends in Greek society, Pulse RC CEO and Chief Information Officer George Arapoglou tells Kathimerini.

For starters, almost nine in 10 respondents (87%) agree that tourism is “very very important” to the Greek economy. The public also continues to have plenty of confidence in the policy choices being made for the future of tourism, with 54% of respondents saying they are “moving in the right direction”, although most of those polled agreed that these policies need for improvements.

Another trend that is gathering support is the desire for “fewer foreign tourists, but for those with greater financial means”, with support for this category rising to 45% from 42% in last year’s survey and just 20% (from 23 last year %) being in favor of “more tourists regardless of financial possibilities”.

“The survey includes special complementary questionnaires that allow us to better understand how Greeks see the future, as well as the benefits and consequences of the country’s main source of income,” comments the head of Pulse RC.

These questionnaires clearly express serious concerns and reservations, while comparison with previous surveys shows that these have also intensified. Protecting the natural environment from the impact of ever-increasing tourist flows and resource management is the number one concern for 64% of respondents, compared to 60% in June last year.

According to the Pulse survey, 40% of respondents believe that tourism development “probably” ignores its impact on the environment, and 24% believe that it certainly does. Only 30% believe that respect for the environment is a factor in planning, with only 5% of those sure it is factored in and 25% saying it probably is.

On the issue of short-term rentals and the impact the market has on the urban and social structure of Athens, where the phenomenon is most intense, 61% of respondents living outside Attica expressed alarm, with 35% “definitely”. worried and 26% “probably” worried. This alarm rises to 69% among respondents living in the Attica region, where 34% are definitely worried, 23% maybe and only 11% not very.

“What we are seeing, once again, is a high positive perception of tourism and the recognition of its importance for the country, without implying that people are not critical and believe that there are aspects of tourism that require more attention or are alarming. growing scale”, says Arapoglou.

“The findings confirm the Greeks’ interest and desire for an even better performance, but with less negative impact and greater financial and other benefits,” he adds.

Foreign tourist arrivals are expected to increase by 10% this year compared to last year and travel revenues by around 5%, according to market estimates. Official figures from the Bank of Greece show that the number of travelers in 2023 increased by 20.8% to 36,082 million, so a 10% increase like that predicted would mean 39.7 million visitors, just short of the psychological threshold of 40 million – so approximately four times the country’s population.

Travel revenue in 2023 reached 20.593 billion euros, an increase of 16.5% compared to 2022. This was the result of a 20.8% increase in the movement of non-resident travelers, as well as average spending per night by 6 €.9 or 8.6% to €87.2 in 2023 from €80.3 a year ago. However, spending per trip fell 3.5% last year to €570.7 from €591.7 in 2022, as the average length of stay also fell by 11.2% to 6.5 nights from 7.4 in 2022. The increase in revenue stems from the higher number of nights stays – which grew by 7.3% to 236,271,200 from 220,213,100 in 2022 – in combination with higher daily spending per capita.

These visitors and the expenses they incurred in this country (travel expenses such as plane tickets are not included) are not evenly distributed across the country’s destinations or throughout the year. As the central bank reports, 90.5% of revenues in 2023 are made by five of Greece’s 13 regions: South Aegean (€5,340 billion), Crete (€5,196 billion), Attica (€3,787 billion), Ionian Islands (€2,039 billion euro) and Central Macedonia (1.515 billion euro).

Meanwhile, the Greek Ombudsman recently published a report outlining a series of problems facing these five regions, and more specifically the most popular destinations within them, from this concentration of tourist flows.

Specifically, in the report of the independent authority entitled “Sustainable development of tourism: Framework, Infrastructure, Resources”, the following issues are mentioned with critical importance: “non-completion of the spatial planning framework and violations of existing borders, intensive. construction and degradation of public space, effective protection of cultural heritage, insufficient framework for protection of protected areas and landscape, ever-increasing pressure on coastal areas, risk of depletion or degradation of water resources, improper management. of waste and issues related to the development of the road network and generally of the transport infrastructure.”

survey

The survey by polling firm Pulse RC for Kathimerini’s initiative, Reimagine Tourism in Greece, was conducted by telephone and online using an electronic questionnaire.

It was nationwide and conducted between June 18 and 20, on a sample of 1,105 eligible voters.