Number of Romanian Tourists to Greece Plunged in 2020, Marking Lowest Record in More Than a Decade
According to data from Statista, the number of Romanian tourists in 2020 was 85 per cent lower than in the previous year while also being about eight per cent below the 2011 levels, when the lowest rates of Romanian visitors (223,000) for the decade were recorded, AtoZSerwisPlus.ro reports.
In general, Romanians visited Greece most between 2016 and 2019, with tourist numbers soaring at all-time high records during this four-year period. More specifically, the top record number of Romanian visitors in Greece was recorded in 2018, with 1.38 million tourists being recorded throughout the year.
The share of Romanian visitors recorded in 2018 was 21 per cent more than in 2017, when 1.14 million tourists were registered and less than one per cent higher than in the following year, right before the COVID-19 pandemic started.
The surge in Romanian tourists in Greece occurred gradually, as it started at 351,000 in 2005 to maintain the same levels until 2011, when it dropped significantly. After 2011 levels, more and more Romanians visited Greece, marking an average number of 600,000 tourists for the 2005-2020 period.
The leading factor for such high rates of Romanian tourists in Greece is religious tourism, as the Hellenic Republic is home to several sacred spots and destinations, such as Saint John’s Monastery and the Church of Panagia, a popular place for pilgrimage in Greece. In addition, the majority of the population in both Greece and Romania are Orthodox Christians, with 90 and 82 per cent of the countries’ population, respectively, identifying with the religion.
Recently, the Greek Minister of Tourism, Vassilis Kikilias, revealed that his country has been working intensively to offer a good tourism experience to Romanians, who make up for a solid tourism market.
“The Romanian market is very important to us. And for road tourism but also for the flights that now come from Bucharest, Cluj and other cities in Athens, Thessaloniki, to mainland destinations where there are airports and on our islands. I see a strong increase in both places and destinations,” Minister Kikilias noted.
In response, the Romanian Minister of Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Rus Lucian Ioan, emphasised his country’s interest in Greek tourism and cited religious tourism as one of the main reasons why Romanians keep coming back to Greece, especially to destinations like Ionian, Evia, and Thasos islands.
