Some 1,500 travellers from the United States, the United Kingdom, and France who plan to visit Greece in 2025 responded as to their travel priorities and interests in a survey conducted by Ipsos for Visa in the first quarter of this year (2025).

As Visa Country Manager for Greece Nikos Petrakis said at a presentation of the main points of the survey in Athens on Tuesday, tourists choose Greece for the sun, sea, and cultural heritage, focusing on Athens and the islands.

He noted that nearly 9 in 10 visitors have planned their trip around a month before travelling. Of note is the fact that while accomodation platforms are the most popular source of information for travel destinations - accompanied by official pages of hotels, services, and restaurants - ChatGPT is rising as a new source of information in planning activities, with tourists from all of the above countries using it. 

"Visa commits to promoting digital platforms, aiming to improve the experience of visitors to Greece. From the introduction of contactless payments in public transportation in all of Athens and an additional 30 cities, to the installation of automated ticket machines at important archaeological areas, we are implementing initiatives that facilitate visitors in Greece and boost accessibility," Petrakis said. In addition, Visa is working with the Ministry of Tourism to support its strategic planning, based on real data, he underlined.

Survey results

A summary of the results follows:

- Time at the beach was the greatest reason to choose Greece (69%), followed by visiting cultural sites (65%), with US visitors being interested in a greater range of activities than the British and French, including night life, theme parks, and musical performances.

- Nearly half of tourists to Greece (48%) are visiting for 4 to 7 days, while the other half will remain in Greece for over 8 days. The 'European summer' is the most popular time, but visiting depends on nationality surveyed: US tourists choose to travel to Greece in July (21%), British favor May (17%) and June (27%), while the French choose to travel to Greece mainly in September (20%).

- A total of 5 in 10 tourists visiting Greece in 2025 will also visit Italy, while 4 in 10 will also visit Spain.

- Leading destinations are Athens and the Greek islands, broken down as follows: US visitors choose Attica (41%), the South Aegean (31%) and Crete (27%). The British prefer the Ioanian islands (32%), the South Aegean and Attica (both, 27%). The French tourists prefer Attica (39%), Crete (35%), and South Aegean (30%).

- Breaking down expected expenses, the US tourists expect to spend on average 3,040 euros per person for their travel to Greece, corresponding to nearly 13% of their income. The British, 1,900 euros/person (nearly 11% of their income), while 1 in 4 intends to increase the amount compared to the previous year. The French expected to spend on average 2,550 euros/person, also corresponding to 11% of their income. Luxury tourism is expected mainly by US tourists.

- Ecological tourism is of more interest to Americans, compared to Europeans, who do not prioritise it highly. Some 30% of US visitors are willing to pay between 5% and 10% more, if purchases, reservations or activities are more environmentally friendly. Overall, awareness of sustainability in tourism activities are "very important" for a third of all tourists, especially at restaurants, transportation, and travel routes.
 

(File photo)