Short-term rentals booming
The short-term rental sector in Greece is recovering at the fastest rate on a pan-European level, following the general course of tourism this year.
According to AirDNA’s latest monthly survey, it appears that demand for short-term rentals during the summer season –based on bookings made for the months of July, August and September – recorded an increase of 26.5% compared to corresponding period of 2019. It is the top performance across the continent.
Accordingly, in the month of June, the increase in overnight stays in Greece since 2019 was 27.2%, followed by Germany with 26.1% and France with an increase of 17.5%. Compared to the corresponding month of 2021, the increase in demand in Greece reached 99.6%, ranking the country in third place, behind only Croatia, where the increase in overnight stays reached 131.8%, and Norway, with an increase of 117%.
In a recent presentation by the vice president of AirDNA’s research sector, Jamie Lane, in the context of an online update of the Greek section of the ULI (Urban Land Institute), it emerged that the region recording the greatest increase in demand compared to 2019, is the Dodecanese in the southeastern Aegean with 46.8%.
It is followed by the Cyclades with an increase of 43.8%, Epirus with 38.9%, the Ionian Islands with 35.6% and Crete with 36.2%.
Regarding individual regions, at the top of demand for this summer is Kos with an increase of 101.7% compared to 2019, followed by Tinos with an increase of bookings by 59.7%, Santorini with 58.3%, Corfu (57.2%) and Zakynthos (51.7%), while in Rhodes the rise reaches 44.7%. In the Cyclades, a significant increase is also recorded in Naxos with 51.5%, Milos with 50.4% and Mykonos with 38.8%.
On the contrary, compared to 2019, demand for the center of Athens is only 1.4% higher. This is an indication that while the market in the capital has now returned to pre-pandemic levels, most foreign visitors prefer an island destination, at least this year.
