One can foresee the future of tourism in Greece with pharaonic hotel complexes developed at the expense of the natural environment and the “landings” of tourists on the islands, which are gradually losing their special character, panting, but planning without … a hotelier. We. The modern traveler has changed. He has other desires, other priorities, far from the model of mass tourism. Now its new features dominate, which began to appear even before the coronavirus. The pandemic has changed the way we look at life, not to mention our vacations.

Young tourists love to explore and hate crowds. They seek meaning in their travels, closer connections, a deeper understanding of the places they visit. According to the Arival platform, young travelers prefer to travel alone or in small groups and are looking for experiences rather than luxury. Private tours are now increasingly opting for old-fashioned excursions. A cheap ticket is no longer the only criterion. Must be accompanied by substance. Among the new trends in tourism are also the growth of mobile bookings, the growth of last minute travel. The mobile phone is now the leading booking channel, with young travelers choosing what to do on the go. The trend was strengthened by the pandemic: for many summers we made plans that did not come true.

By keeping their antennas open, the new generation of tourism entrepreneurs have pre-diagnosed the changes ahead and prepared accordingly. The onslaught of COVID-19 “frozen” their activities, but not their teams, who were hard at work for tomorrow: they automated processes, developed new products and services that would meet new needs. So today they are looking forward to the first COVID-free summer with increased turnover and more optimism.

The idea came to Tina Kiriaki in 2016, although it was not just an idea, but wishful thinking. Wouldn’t it be nice, he thought, if there was someone who would organize our trips on the spot, wake up in the morning at the destination and select the program of the day according to our mood? “Most of the time it’s 12 noon and we’re still debating where we’re going to go and what we’re going to do. Or it’s 4 p.m. and we start looking for “somewhere good” to eat while the kids are crying in the back seat,” he says, describing the scene more familiar than we care to admit. No, he wasn’t looking for a travel agency. She wanted to remain independent and flexible. But at the same time, someone did all the googling before her for her.

Thus was born Back to the Routes (a play on words meaning a return to the origins, the essence of travel), an innovative travel company that allows the traveler to customize their journey according to their personal preferences on the road. With the travel app, you can create your own itinerary by selecting must-sees and optional stops, viewing food and activity recommendations by region, reading tips and stories, and more. “It’s like having a guide with an opinion by your side all the time,” says Tina, who created Back to the Routes with guide Danai Kosuri during the dry years of the pandemic. Once upon a time, everyone dreamed of getting behind the wheel and just driving away.

The idea perfectly meets the current trends around tourism. “Already in recent years, the world has seen a shift towards independent travel. First they themselves closed transport, then hotels, now tours (including Tina Kyriaki is also the founder of Alternative Athens, which offers alternative tours in Athens). People want to make their own choice. Customize your journey on the go. The last minute booking trend is also strong. They no longer want to plan ahead. And they are gradually moving away from mass tourism and the mainstream itself.” The COVID experience exacerbated these trends (flights). “We also saw it in Alternative Athens. Before the coronavirus, people took tours in small groups to avoid the crowds. Now he chooses them also for health reasons.” The pandemic, Ms. Kiriaki believes, has forced us to reconsider our values, to return to the most important thing. “That’s why we see waves of mass layoffs, the phenomenon of digital nomads, people who quit their jobs because they want to do something more meaningful. Quarantine made us take a step back and say, “The life I used to live was crazy.” Even my holidays.

The “dramatic” years of the pandemic now seem distant for Alexandros Trimis, co-founder of Welcome Pickups. The Greek startup, founded in 2015, which, together with ambassador guides, covers all travel needs of travelers (transportation, tourism products, job offers, information) from the moment they arrive at a new destination to their departure, this year will serve from 1.6 million travelers to 120 destinations and 53 countries. “Our goal was to make the first and last hour at the destination as pleasant and friendly as possible,” he tells K. “This is not something that we brought and applied to the local environment. It’s something we haven’t seen anywhere else, combining a simple metaphor, a relatively boring element, with experience and personification.” However, the company’s rapid growth came to a halt. “Where we doubled in the 20th, we suddenly dropped to 5% of bookings. So 1.5-2 years passed. However, the team was not idle. “We used this time to automate and improve some processes.” ’21 has reached 70% of ’19 (the last normal tourist year), ’22 has reached 50% of ’19 and is expected to soar 60% of ’22 this year. “As for the turnover, we will triple it from 1919.”

As Mr Trimis says, the coronavirus has hit tourism hard, but at the same time it has boosted business efforts like theirs. “People no longer wanted to take the subway or bus to get to their destination. There is a shift to smaller groups in a safer and more sanitized environment.” In addition, according to him, now they are looking for experience, meaningful contacts, in-depth acquaintance with a new place. “Travel has now become exploration.”

Digital guide on your phone

The turnover of the Greek startup Clio Muse Tours, which creates and offers audio tours of the main attractions and themed walks, reached 760,000 euros in 2019. After chaos. “They told us that the post-Covid era might have a positive sign for us, but we couldn’t see that at that stage,” says Daphni Cevreni, who founded the company in 2014 with Giannis Nikolopoulos and Andreas Faturos. We met a few years ago as students attending seminars on entrepreneurship. Andreas’ idea of ​​a World Heritage Network sounded a little crazy at first, but the other two immediately clicked. “We did market research among museums and travelers and gradually came up with the form of an audio tour, the first version of Clio Muse Tours. We have developed a storytelling methodology that we follow and even launched the service in some museums. Some travel agencies saw this and suggested that we take it with us on nature tours. This is how the current version of Clio Muse Tours began – a model of tourism provided to the customer, who pays to listen to audio tours of attractions, museums, walks, ”says Ms. Cevreni. Since 2018, the audio tour has been combined with the entrance ticket in one package. Thus, they filled a niche in the market. “Many people did not want to join a large group or did not find a suitable guide (i.e. tours are compiled by accredited guides and recognized professionals in the field of tourism and culture).”

While waiting for the end of the pandemic, the Clio Muse Tours team managed to automate many parts of the service process and continue to develop the platform. “In 2020 we fell, but in 2021 we reached 780,000 and in 2022 we reached 3.2 million euros. Yes, it was pretty strong.” The company operates in 24 countries, especially in Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Egypt and Turkey. “Last year we reached 120,000 travelers who either downloaded the audio tour or bought the audio tour package and ticket together. The product offers independence, convenience, meets the latest trends.” According to her, the traveler has also changed. “In 2019, only 15% of museum visitors can take an audio tour. We now have 30%. The idea of ​​an audio tour has taken on a larger scale since COVID-19. We’ve had hard times, but every obstacle is ultimately for the best.” The target for this year is to reach a turnover of 13.5 million euros.

Numbers

58% Gen Z (18-25) and millennials (26-41) prefer travel over consumer goods.
63% demand among all travelers for excursions in 2022 decreased from 43% in 2019, and visits to historical sites, respectively, fell from 57% to 36%.
35% demand for outdoor activities has grown from 26% three years ago.
25% travelers under the age of 35 are using TikTok to discover new things to do.