From mass to experience tourism

Some people may foresee a dismal tourism future for Greece, with pharaonic hotel facilities developed at the expense of the natural environment, and throngs of tourists descending on the islands, which gradually lose their special character – but they are jumping the gun. The modern traveler has changed. They have other desires, other priorities, far from the model of mass tourism. This new kind of traveler, who had already begun to appear before the pandemic, is dominating the market. The pandemic has changed the way we look at life – as well as our holidays.

Tourists today love exploring and abhor crowds. They seek meaning in their travels, greater connections, a deeper understanding of the places they visit. According to data from the Arival platform, young travelers are choosing to travel alone or in small groups and are picking experiences over luxury. Private tours are increasingly being chosen over old-fashioned sightseeing. Cheap tickets no longer determine destination: It must offer something of substance. Among the new trends are the rise of bookings from mobile phones and last-minute travel, reinforced by the pandemic, when we made plans that did not come to fruition.

‘People want to make their own choices, customize their trip on the go. They no longer want to plan everything long in advance’

The new generation of tourism entrepreneurs saw the coming changes and prepared accordingly. The onslaught of Covid-19 froze their business activities but not their teams, who worked hard for the days after the pandemic: They developed new products and services that respond to these new needs.

Wouldn’t it be nice, Tina Kyriaki thought back in 2016, if there was someone to organize our trips on the spot, to wake up in the morning at our destination and choose the day’s schedule according to our mood? “Most times, noon comes and we’re still discussing where to go and what to do. Or it’s 4 p.m. and we start looking for ‘somewhere nice’ to eat, while the kids are crying in the backseat,” she says, describing a scene familiar to many. It wasn’t a travel agency she was looking for: She wanted to be independent and flexible. But, at the same time, she wanted someone to do all the Googling for her.

This is how Back to the Routes was born, an innovative roadtrip company which enables travelers to customize their trip on the road. The travel app allows you to create your own day plan by choosing from must-see and optional stops, looking at recommendations for food and activities by region, reading tips and stories and much more. “It’s like having an opinionated guide constantly with you,” says Kyriaki, who created Back to the Routes together with tour guide Danae Kousouri during the travel-deprived years of the pandemic.

“Already in recent years there has been a shift toward independent travel. At first, people booked transport themselves, then the hotels, now the tours [Kyriaki is also the founder of Alternative Athens, which offers alternative tours of the capital]. People want to make their own choices, customize their trip on the go. The trend of last-minute booking is also strong. They no longer want to plan everything long in advance. And they are gradually abandoning mass tourism and the very mainstream,” she says. The experience of Covid-19 has exacerbated these tendencies for escape. “We also saw it at Alternative Athens. Before the coronavirus, people chose small group tours to escape the crowds. Now, they also choose them for health reasons.” The pandemic, Kyriaki believes, made us reconsider our values and return to what matters most. “That’s why we’re seeing waves of mass resignations, digital nomads, people who leave their jobs because they want to do something more meaningful. Quarantine made us take a step back and say, ‘The life I had before was crazy – even my holidays.’”

The pandemic years now seem distant for Alexandros Trimis, co-founder of Welcome Pickups. The Greek startup, founded in 2015, offers drivers to cover all the needs of travelers (transportation, travel products, activity recommendations, information) from arrival to departure. This year it will serve over 1.6 million travelers at 120 destinations in 53 countries. “Our aim was to make the first and last hour spent at a destination as pleasant and friendly as possible,” he tells Kathimerini. “This was not something we found abroad and applied locally; it’s something we haven’t seen elsewhere – the combination of plain transport services, a relatively boring thing, with [local] experience and personification.”

The company’s meteoric growth came to an abrupt halt. “Although we doubled [our bookings] in 2020, we suddenly dropped to 5%. That’s how about two years passed.” However, the team did not remain idle. “We used that time to automate our services and improve some processes,” Trimis says. “In terms of turnover, it will be triple compared to 2019,” he explains.

According to Trimis, the pandemic dealt a blow to tourism, but also strengthened initiatives like theirs. “People no longer wanted to get on a subway or a bus to get to their destination. There is a shift to smaller groups, to safer, sanitized environments.” Apart from that, he continues, people are now looking for an experience, meaningful contact, in-depth understanding of the place they visit. “Travel has become exploration.”

Digital tour guide in your ear

The turnover of Clio Muse Tours, the Greek startup that creates and offers audio tours for top attractions and themed walks, reached 760,000 euros in 2019. Then it imploded. “They told us that the post-Covid era might have a positive effect on us, but we couldn’t see it at that stage,” says Daphne Tsevreni, CRO of Clio Muse Tours, who, along with Yiannis Nikolopoulos and Andreas Fatouros, founded the company in 2014. The three had met a few years earlier as students participating in entrepreneurship seminars.

Fatouros’ idea of creating a world heritage network sounded a little crazy at first, but the other two immediately agreed. “We did market research at museums and spoke to travelers and gradually came up with a form of audio tour, the first version of Clio Muse Tours. We developed the storytelling methodology we still follow and launched the service at some museums. Some travel agencies saw it and suggested that we do it for outdoor tours as well. This is how the current version of Clio Muse Tours began, which is a tourism model provided to the customer who pays to listen to the audio tour for attractions, museums and walks,” Tsevreni explains.

Since 2018 the audio tour has been combined with an entrance ticket in a single package, filling a gap in the market. “Many people do not want to join a large group or could not find an available tour guide,” Tsevreni says, noting that the tours are created by accredited tour guides and established professionals from the field of tourism and culture.

While waiting for the pandemic to wane, the Clio Muse Tours team managed to automate many parts of the services and further develop the platform. “In 2020 the revenue fell, but in 2021 we reached 780,000 euros, and in 2022 it jumped to 3.2 million euros. Yes, it did pretty well.”

The company operates in 24 countries, with its strongest presence in Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Egypt and Turkey. “Last year we reached 120,000 travelers who either downloaded an audio tour or bought an audio tour and ticket package. The product offers independence, convenience, and responds to the last-minute trend.” As Tsevreni explains, the traveler has also changed. “In 2019, only 15% of museum visitors would take an audio tour. We are now at 30%. The idea of the audio tour has taken on bigger dimensions after Covid-19. We went through hard times, but every obstacle is an opportunity.” The company’s goal this year is for turnover to reach 13.5 million euros.