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What tourists who come to Greece buy

Featured What tourists who come to Greece buy

The important position of trade in the tourism ecosystem was confirmed by the research presented by the Hellenic Confederation of Trade and Entrepreneurship on the multiplying effects of tourism activity on trade.

According to the results of the Survey, the most dynamic tourist commercial products are souvenirs (24.3%) and local traditional products (19.2%) with the main reason for the purchases being the tendency of foreign visitors to purchase souvenirs from the place they visit (29.6%). Most foreign tourists choose for their purchases mainly local shops/local markets (62%), while most of them (47.6%) state that they are likely/very likely to buy a Greek product remotely when they return to the country their.

The most important nationalities of tourists visiting the country are the English, the Germans, the French, the Italians and the Americans who choose for their accommodation mainly an all-inclusive or non-inclusive hotel (62.5%) and short-term rental accommodation (Airbnb type) (19.9%). Most (52.8%) have an income between 15,000 – 50,000 euros and spend a little more than 200 euros per day/person. Of these amounts, 9% goes to the purchase of products from commercial enterprises and 6% to the purchase of food. The highest spending on shopping is recorded in Crete (26 euros) with the Americans noting the strongest impulse of consumption from commercial enterprises (21 euros).

The above data show the importance of attracting visitors with a higher income, but also the criticality of upgrading both the digitalization of tourist commercial businesses and the distribution channels of Greek products in order to consistently serve external demand at competitive prices. In addition, the mapping of the most dynamic tourism products highlights how important a new sectoral specialization is that will accelerate the interconnection of tourism with trade, the creative economy (creative economy) and agro-food.

In the context of the Research, the significant effects of tourism on the Greek economy were presented, as Greece records the fourth highest percentage of travel receipts as a percentage of GDP among the member countries of the European Union. It was pointed out that tourism improved its performance within 2022 approaching the results of 2019. According to the data presented, the indirect effects of tourism are stronger in activities such as trade, agriculture and food and beverages with 22% of the total indirect impact (in terms of Gross Added Value) on trade. Also, as emerged from the multipliers data presented, tourism gives a significant boost to employment in other industries with retail trade being second in rank among them.