Research: USA Market’s Demand for Greece

Introduction

The USA market has for years been one of the most significant pillars for Greek tourism, so understanding their travel behaviors and preferences is key to crafting successful marketing strategies. This report delves into the travel habits of US tourists heading to Greece, analyzing their preferred search times for accommodation and peak travel periods. We have also explored the penetration level of the USA market within various Greek destinations. 

Highlighting the top 5 destinations that attracted the most  visitors from the USA in 2023, Santorini, of course, tops the list. This island not only boasts the highest demand from USA travelers but also exhibits intriguing market trends. 

It is important to note that the data throughout is presented in a scaled format (numbers in thousands) in order to analyze the impact of various factors that may not have direct measurements.

Understanding USA Travel Habits

USA Requests and Demand From August 2020 Until February 2024 

The first thing that strikes us when analyzing the chart below is the incredible rise in the demand from US travelers for travel to Greece in the past 2 years. The request and demand exhibit a clear seasonal pattern, highlighting their preference for travel during peak holiday months, including September. This recurring pattern suggests a strong correlation between US travel and Greek summer. The request line shows the months when people search for accommodation, while the demand line indicates the check-in dates. This pattern reveals that Americans tend to book their trips to Greece months in advance. This makes sense because the farther you travel, the earlier you typically need to make arrangements.

Analyzing the seasonality, we can also note that visitors from the US extend their stays not only during the three main months of peak tourism in Greece but also beyond. July stands out as the peak month both in 2022 and 2023, followed by a decrease in August and a secondary peak in September. This pattern suggests a nuanced trend that could be indicative of shifting travel preferences or external factors influencing visitor behavior, such as lower prices during that period combined with the weather still being good.

The top 5 in-demand Greek destinations for USA

Our analysis paints a compelling picture of Americans’ travel habits when it comes to the Greek islands. A surge in accommodation searches by American travelers in 2023 indicates a strong and growing demand for island getaways, while Athens sits at the 3rd place. As it can clearly be seen, around 75% of the USA market is interested in traveling to the top 5 locations (based on demand) both in 2023 and 2022, with the top destination in demand being Santorini. This comes virtually as no surprise, since Santorini is one of the most famous spots in Greece, worldwide, and has, for years, been identified as the place to witness the best and most romantic sunsets on Earth, while its volcanic surroundings and the several luxury hotels and villas that have popped up during the last years have made it a “mecca” for social media influencers and celebrities. 

Demand for Santorini, however, appears to have experienced a slight decline in 2023 compared to 2022, as did the second most popular destination for American travelers, Mykonos. On the other hand, Athens, Ios and Paros all saw an increase in 2023, with Ios seeing the largest percentage increase.

The following table shows the penetration of the US travelers that cover the whole destination’s market. This insight is extremely valuable as it shows what percentage of the total tourists of a destination comes from the US.

The biggest penetration is seen in Ios, where a little over 15% of the visiting tourists comes from the USA, followed by Santorini with a penetration of about 13%. The biggest rise, however, is witnessed in Athens, which in 2023 more than 10% of the visiting tourists came from the US, compared to 7.76% in 2022, followed by Paros, whose US penetration rose from 6.55% to 8.59%.

Most popular check-in dates

As it was mentioned earlier, Americans seem to opt for the whole “Greek summer” experience, prioritizing the sunny weather and stunning beaches Greece and its islands offer. Furthermore, it can also be said that the market is torn between the main summer season and September, which seems to be steadily emerging as the most sought-after travel period for 4 out of the 5 top destinations. 

Santorini is the prime example of that trend, since the US demand for visiting in September is higher than the demand for June, probably due to the lower prices compared to the peak months of July and August, as well as the fact that the weather is still good and, in the Cyclades – which are notorious for their windy weather or “meltemia” during the peak months of summer – this is significant because it is said that the windy days are more tolerable during that time. Same goes for Athens and Mykonos to a point. Ios, on the other hand, has a clear peak in July.

What is the most popular vacation seeking period?

To answer this question and, as our analysis showed us earlier, the searches regarding Greece are typically steady during the first six months (January-June) as people want to plan their summer vacation so they can have something to look forward to. In the case of Americans, they also have to take into consideration the fact that coming to Greece is a transatlantic journey, so they ought to book such a trip quite early and it is more often than not that they plan to visit multiple destinations across Europe since they will be in closer proximity to more sought-after destinations.

The examination of seasonality regarding check-in dates demand of the USA is a bit different compared to how we ‘read’ and understand the graphs when talking about request dates. Santorini was ahead in the check-in demand allover in 2023 and exhibits a much higher search volume compared to the other 4 top destinations.

Another interesting insight about the US travel behaviors in Greece are the Average Nights of stay and the Average Lead time in Greece, which can be seen in the table below. The UK is taken as a comparison market in order to understand the scale of the data. As we can see, Americans spend on average 5.6 nights in Greece and plan their trip about 126 days – or more than 4 months – before checking-in, due to the reasons we mentioned earlier.

Destination-wise, during their trips to Greece, Americans spend the most Nights on average in Corfu (7.1) and the least in Zakynthos (4.1).

Concerning the Average Lead Time, Americans take the most time to plan their trips to Patmos – about 177 days or nearly 6 months in advance – perhaps because it is more difficult to reach compared to other Greek islands. Zakynthos, on the other hand, is the destination they plan the least in advance; only 46.6 days prior to their checking-in. When we combine these two values for Zakynthos, it becomes evident that it is a Greek island that Americans decide to visit more last-minute or make it a part of their island-hopping. The lead time also points out that perhaps it is easier to reach compared to other destinations in Greece and Americans don’t want to miss the opportunity to cross seeing the world-renowned Navagio beach off their bucket list. 

Conclusion

The surge in American interest in visiting the Greek islands in 2023 has us looking ahead to 2024 with heightened interest. With COVID-19 seemingly under control and travel patterns settling, our analysis shows a strong desire among US travelers for the Greek islands. This is evident from the repeated spikes in interest during peak vacation times, suggesting a collective yearning for Greece’s stunning beaches as well as rich cultural experiences in the capital, Athens.

The data reveals a clear seasonal trend, with summer months traditionally dominating American vacation schedules. Additionally, a high concentration of visitors flock to the top 5 most popular destinations in Greece. This trend is further amplified by the early and sustained interest in Santorini.