Tourism plays a key role in Greece’s economy, as was confirmed by the research presented by the Hellenic Confederation of Trade and Entrepreneurship on the multiplying effects of tourism activity on trade.

According to the results of the Survey, the most dynamic tourist commercial products are souvenirs (24.3%) and local traditional products (19.2%) with the main reason for the purchases being the tendency of foreign visitors to purchase souvenirs from the place they visit (29.6%). Most foreign tourists choose for their purchases mainly local shops/local markets (62%) while most of them (47.6%) state that they are very/very likely to buy a Greek product remotely when they return to the country.

The most important nationalities of tourists visiting the country are the English, Germans, French, Italians, and Americans who choose for their stay mainly an all-inclusive or non-inclusive hotel (62.5%) and short-term rental accommodation (Airbnb type) (19.9%). Most (52.8%) have an income between 15,000 – 50,000 euros and spend a little more than 200 euros per day/per person. Of these amounts, 9% goes to the purchase of products from commercial enterprises and 6% to the purchase of food. The highest shopping expenditure is recorded in Crete (26 euros)with the Americans noting the strongest impulse to consume from commercial enterprises (21 euros).

The above data show the significance of attracting visitors with a higher income, but also the criticality of upgrading both the digitalisation of tourist commercial businesses and the distribution channels of Greek products in order to consistently serve external demand at competitive prices. In addition, the mapping of the most dynamic tourism products highlights how important a new sectoral specialisation is that will accelerate the interconnection of tourism with trade, the creative economy (creative economy), and agro-food.