Airbnb, the online accommodation platform, announced that total reservations in Greece reached $ 1.4 billion in 2018. Greece is ranked 14th nationally in terms of total reservations income, after Brazil and ahead of The Netherlands. Airbnb’s success in Greece shows the potential of the wider tourism industry in Greece.
Tourism arrivals have been growing rapidly in Greece, with some 33 million total arrivals estimated in 2018. The Greek tourism sector has seen a resurgence, notably due to problems in neighbouring destinations (Turkey, Egypt) as well as due to the country’s reputation for hospitality, safety and excellent island and beaches.
Airbnb recently announced that total bookings in Greece reached $ 1.4 billion in 2018. Greece ranks 14th world-wide, which is impressive given its population of 10 million. The top 30 destinations by reservation income are:
USA: $ 33.8 billion
France: $ 10.8 billion
Spain: $ 6.9 billion
Italy: $ 6.4 billion
UK: $ 5.6 billion
Australia: $ 4.4 billion
Canada $ 4.3 billion
Japan: $ 3.5 billion
Mexico: $ 2.7 billion
Portugal: $ 2.3 billion
Germany: $ 2.3 billion
China: $ 2.3 billion
Brazil: $ 2.1 billion
Greece: $ 1.4 billion
Netherlands: $ 1.3 billion
Korea: $ 1.2 billion
Thailand: $ 1.1 billion
New Zealand: $ 912 million
Croatia: $ 910 million
Ireland: $ 832 million
Malaysia: $ 734 million
South Africa: $ 685 million
Argentina: $ 664 million
Denmark: $ 654 million
Switzerland: $ 651 million
Austria: $ 625 million
Indonesia: $ 593 million
Philippines: $ 586 million
Colombia: $ 560 million
Czech Republic: $ 555 million
In Greece, AirBnB started with 132 residences in 2010 and in 2018 has increased that number to 126,000. According to the research conducted by the National Bank of Greece, 80% of the market believes that AirBnB’s rise is vital to real estate investment increase.
The price of Greek real estate is showing a rebound, especially in popular tourism destinations such as Athens, Chania, Heraklion and Rhodes.
Further information provided by AirBnB indicates that Airbnb guests spend 42% of their budget in the neighbourhood where they stay. An average of 70% of guests that booked preferred AirBnb because they wanted to explore a specific neighbourhood. Guests who claimed AirBnB influenced their decision to extend their stay also added 4.3 days to their trip.
These statistics indicate that Airbnb has become an important booking channel for a certain category of tourists, always taking into account the destination and travel product. NavInvest Greece supports hotel and tourism accommodation investments in Greece, and has extensive experience in due diligence on tourism and property investments. Please contact us for more information relating to hotel and property investments in Greece.