According to recently published data, during the third quarter of 2022 (July, August, and September), Australian visitors spent an average of €128.2 (approximately AU$188) per night, compared to an average of €83.3 (AU$121) for all tourists.
In comparison – and during the same period – visitors from the US came in second with expenditure of €107.5, and those from Canada came in third with €104.
The only exception was cruise travellers, who had a median daily expenditure of €128.5. Cruise tourists are statistical outliers, however, as they typically spend more time at each stop as they want to experience more in a shorter amount of time. Data from the Bank of Greece (BoG), which performs a monthly sample survey at the country’s key entry-exit points, show that there is no distinction based on nationality.
In general, Australian tourists are traveling farther and spend more on their summer vacations than their peers in Europe, the United States, and Canada, despite the current economic challenges.
A recent study – which polled 15,000 respondents from fifteen countries and was commissioned by Europ Assistance, the parent company of the Australian travel insurance firm InsureandGo – is quite enlightening. The attitude of Australian tourists was evaluated in the research for the first time this year, with a panel of 1000 Australian respondents participating in the poll.
The survey explored several crucial elements, such as reasons why individuals do not travel as much as they did, their travel budgets, how their travel plans have changed because of inflation, their typical vacation lengths, and their desire to travel overseas.
Less than a quarter (23 per cent) of Australian respondents said that, due to inflation, they would select a summer vacation destination closer to home, compared to 27 per cent of European, Canadian, and American respondents.
According to the study’s findings, Australian respondents spend an average of $4602 more on summer vacations than respondents from the United States ($4544), Canada ($3633), and Europe ($3144).
Jonathan Etkind, the chief commercial officer of InsureandGo, argued that “Australians have traditionally been thought of as travel lovers. According to the research, travel is high on our list of priorities, and inflation has a minimal effect on our trip plans.
The research found that 40 per cent of respondents from Canada and 37% from the United States said they would forgo travel this year to save money, with Canadians emerging as the most frugal travellers. Comparatively, less than a third (32 per cent) of Australian respondents are prepared to forgo their summertime travel to save money, as Etkind suggested.
Australians are by far the most fortunate holidaymakers. According to the study, Australians’ summer vacations last an average of 2.1 weeks, which is longer than the 1.9 weeks in Europe, 1.8 weeks in Canada, and 1.6 weeks in the US.
As Etkind concludes, Australian travellers may be saving more money than travellers from Europe and North America. That is because Australians generally prefer to maximize their time in their destination, which they almost always reach after a lengthy flight. It is hardly surprising that airfares from Australia to international destinations account for a sizable portion of Australian travel budgets.
All these conditions apply to Greek-Australians travelling to Greece as they must take long flights, and budget their vacation in the Mediterranean well in advance. Yet, the strong bond between Greek-Australians and their homeland is the key reason Greek-Australians top the charts of Australian travellers, in terms of time and money spent abroad.
