94% Russians have never visited Greece

24% said they would consider going to Greece for holidays

Greek tourism has great growth potential regarding the Russian market, according to a study conducted by Russian NGO Levada Center. The findings of the independent social research and polling group revealed that 94% of Russians had never visited Greece, presenting a great opportunity for the industry to tap into a large portion of the Russian market. Based on a sample of 1,600 people, taken from 48 regions across Russia between April 21-24, the data showed that only 4% of Russians had traveled to Greece at least once. 24% responded they would consider visiting Greece in the future, while a large 68% ruled it out. Between 2-4% said they had traveled to Greece this season. The findings revealed that Turkey was the most popular destination for Russians with 13% having visited the country at least once, while Egypt (9%), Thailand (6%), Spain (4%) followed. The vast majority of those polled said they had never visited any country abroad for holidays, and that they did not plan to visit any popular tourist destination in the near future. According to data published by the same centre in 2014, 72% of Russians did not have a passport.