“Visitors to Athens consciously choose it and recommend it unreservedly despite the inconvenience caused by the pandemic.” This statement emerged from the 17th Survey of EXAAA & GBR Consulting “On Guest Satisfaction and Performance of Attica Hotels 2021,” conducted in collaboration with Athens International Airport (AIA).

In today’s presentation of the findings, it was underlined that the intention to travel was not only unchanged but also strengthened during the pandemic, emphasizing the difficult conditions that Athens had to endure.

Regarding the main conclusions of the survey, which was run jointly by the hoteliers and Athens Airport according to data from the AIA 6 out of 10 passengers in 2021 were foreign visitors. In absolute numbers, a total of 12.3 million passengers arrived at the airport in 2021, of which 7.7 million were international passengers. In fact, the increase in passenger traffic compared to 2022 is 52% while the comparison with 2019 records losses of 52%.

As the CEO of Athens International Airport, Giannis Paraschis, pointed out, “after two years of testing, we are collaborating for the next stage of urban tourism. It is a particularly positive element that ‘destination Athens,’ as it appears from the data of our joint research with EXAAA, maintains resilience and attractiveness.”

Regarding the hotel satisfaction survey, it was emphasized that the guests who stayed in one of the hotels in Athens were very satisfied with the security measures taken, rating them with a score of 8.7 out of 10. Regarding the process of entering Greece with the necessary supporting documents was evaluated 7.8 out of 10. Regarding the degree of influence of the pandemic measures on overall experience, it decreased from 7.2 in 2020 to 6.7 in 2021.

In terms of the overall experience of the visitors in Athens, it was evaluated with a score of 8.1 out of 10, based on very high evaluations of the culture of Athens, the behavior of its inhabitants, the access from the airport and the entertainment options. Nevertheless, it scored low grades for noise pollution, public cleanliness and air pollution.

In the meantime, the satisfaction of the hotel facilities continues to be highly valued with a score of 8.7 and the value for money at the level of 8.5 to 10. The expenses of the guests remained stable at 115 euros per person per day. Finally, the analysis shows that 47% of those who did not visit the coastal front do not know it, while 6 out of 10 visitors do not know Aegina.

At this point, the president of the Athens Attica and Argosaronikos Hotel Owners Association, Lamprini Karanassiou Zulovic, assessed that the next quarters are particularly important for the increase of tourist traffic in Athens, while the general secretary of EXAAA, Eugenios Vasilikos, stressed that promoting the facilities and services the city has to offer to its visitors is of paramount importance. At the same time, he added that the overall quality of Athens on offer must be commensurate with the infrastructure that is being created.

This article was previously published in Greek at moneyreview.gr.