By L. Karageorgos
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Greece comes in third, after Italy and Spain, as a Mediterranean "luxury destination" for European tourists, according to a relevant study by ΙΡΚ International.
Other countries considered as "upscale Med" destinations, along with the first trio, are the south of France, Portugal, Turkey, Cyprus, Croatia, Malta, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Montenegro and Albania. "Luxury holidays" are, for the purposes of the study, considered as vacations with spending exceeding 750 euros per overnight stay per person, and for a period of between one and three days. Otherwise, 500 euros per person per overnight stay exceeding four days.
According to findings in the study, some 4.4 tourists enjoyed "luxury holidays" in the Mediterranean region in 2016, reaching 23.8 million overnight stays and with nearly 20 billion euros in turnover. Of the 4.4 million, two million were European citizens.
Tourists choosing Greece for high-end holidays in 2016 reached 402,000, nevertheless corresponding to only a meager 1.4 percent of the total tourism flow to the country, given that the figure also includes cruises. Some 2.2 million overnight stays in the country (1.1 percent of the total) were in the high-end category, and with 1.8 billion euros in turnover for "luxury holidays" (13.7 percent of the total).
Germany, France and the UK were the top three countries from where tourists enjoying "luxury holidays" in Greece hailed from.
