Greece is in the top three Mediterranean destinations that tourists want to visit once travel restrictions are lifted.
The survey which was conducted by Horwath HTL, a global consultancy specialising in tourism, was based on a sentiment survey on 12 target markets.
Among the eight destinations in the Mediterranean, Spain ranked first (22.04%) followed by Italy (15.70%), then Greece (15.01%).
The other destinations, in order of preference, are Portugal, Croatia, Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt.
The most popular destinations in Greece are Halkidiki (18.35%), Crete (15.6%), Santorini (13.76%), Corfu and Mykonos (11.93%) and Rhodes (11.01 %).
Other Greek destinations listed in the survey include other Ionian islands (4.59%), other Cyclades islands (3.67%), Kos (3.67%) and the Peloponnese (2.75%).
More than two thirds of those questioned felt optimistic about the future of tourism and travel, while 52.8% said they wanted to travel abroad and 63.91% said that they felt safe travelling by plane. Regarding accommodation, 45.1% would prefer to stay in a hotel (25.21% preferring an independent hotel and 19.89% a hotel chain), 27.02% chose either rented rooms or short-term leases and 27.88% to stay with either friends or family.
The survey was conducted online between June 8 and June 22, on a sample of 1,000 adult participants of all ages from 12 target markets, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Spain, United Kingdom, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States.
The head of Horwath HTL Greece, Xenophon Petropoulos, underlined that the experience of the first arrivals in July will be a key factor that will decide the rest of the season for Greek tourism, as the visitors will immediately start to communicate their experience to friends, co-workers and acquaintances, who will be keen to know whether it lives up to their expectations and is trustworthy.
