Growth rates that exceed the EU average, as well as many of the major European tourist markets, the short-term rental in Greece making an impression, as seen on official data from the most significant international platforms.
Due to seasonality, in the third quarter of 2023, close to 22.8 million overnight stays were recorded in Greek destinations, marking an increase of 17.2% compared to the corresponding period of 2022 but also by 55.6% about the third quarter of 2019, before the pandemic.
The numbers indicate the market’s growth in recent years, with Greece surpassing the European average.
Overall, in the E.U. in the third quarter of 2023, for the period July-September, there were 309.38 million overnight stays in the short-term rental segment, a figure increased by 13.4% compared to the third quarter of 2022 and by 34.3% compared to the quarter of 2019.
The figures are derived from the data provided to Eurostat by the major platforms (Airbnb, Booking, Expedia Group and TripAdvisor) for short-term rental bookings made through their networks as part of the relevant agreement they have made with the EU as early as 2020.
In total, for 2023 for the period January-September, throughout the EU. Total bookings of short-term rentals correspond to 546.2 million nights.
This is a significant increase, in double digits, compared to the same period in 2022 (488.6 million nights, +11.8%) and figures that exceed by well above pre-pandemic levels (423.7 million overnight stays in the first nine months of 2019, +28.9%), which confirms the clear growth of the market across Europe.
Especially for the Greek market, the corresponding figure for the nine months of 2023 is 32.1 million, with the lion’s share corresponding, as is reasonable, to the July-September period (22.79 million) due to its high seasonality of Greek tourism.
The platforms also provide information on the most “strong” short-term rental markets in our country, which are connected to leading tourist destinations and, of course, the Greek capital, where there is also an ample supply of short-term rental accommodation.
So, the areas with the most reservations in the Greek market concern Attica, the islands of the South Aegean, Crete and the Ionian Islands.
The first markets in the E.U.
At the EU level, France and Spain have the lead in total overnight stays in the third quarter of the summer, with more than 1/3 of the total. In particular, for the summer period of 2023, bookings in short-term rental accommodation in France reached 65.5 million overnight stays with an increase of 7.4% compared to the third quarter of 2022, while about the pre-pandemic period, in the third quarter of 2019, the increase is impressive, at 45, 9%.
Accordingly, in the very strong Spanish market, the total number of overnight stays in the third quarter was close to 56 million, +12.7% compared to the corresponding period and +25.1% compared to 2019.
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