David Sturrock Yachting

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2017 Season Outlook

Happy New Year to all our customers, sailing friends and business partners.

 

The following information has been issued by the Greek Yachting Association on 03 January 2017.

 

With a New Year beginning, it is gratifying to announce that in 2016 Greece continued to maintain its position as the top yachting destination in the Mediterranean. To all those familiar with Greek waters, the reasons are obvious – safe waters, a graphic coastline, and the yachting infrastructure. Adding to this, the unique culture and reputation for hospitality as well as its ideal climate, make Greece one of a kind. With its long and successful maritime history, Greece remains in the heart of the yachting world in Southern Europe and continues to grow in popularity as the perfect destination. Therefore, it is worth recapping how the country faired in terms of popularity and ranking.

 

 

  • Early in 2016, Condé Nast Traveller magazine set the pace for other publications by selecting Greece as 1 of the top 6 destinations to visit in May.
  • 14 Greek islands were also noted by Condé Nast Traveller as the ideal summer destinations. The Cycladic islands of Mykonos, Santorini, Tinos, Andros, Naxos and Sifnos were singled out. Corfu and Kefallonia in the Ionian Sea, as well as Rhodes, Symi, Patmos and Astypalaia, and not forgetting Hydra and Crete, were all selected for being the best in Greece.
  • The Virtuoso Traveller publication ranked Greece within the top 10 locations for jet-setters.
  • Greece was chosen as one of the best countries to visit in the world in 2015-16 according to The Telegraph Travel Awards.
  • The Express newspaper singled out Crete and Skopelos for being 2 out of the top 5 Best European Short Getaways. In addition to this, Corfu & Santorini were ranked in the 6 Best Mediterranean cruising destinations.
  • Also mentioned by The Express were the islands of Corfu & Santorini for being amongst the six best Mediterranean cruising destinations.
  • Greece’s mainland also made it in the destinations charts, as The Mirror mentioned Kalamata and Messinia in their Top 10 New Hot Destinations of 2016.
  • More recently, in November of 2016, Conde Nast Traveller ranked Greece’s capital, Athens, 5th out of 17 destinations worldwide for Best Places to Travel to in 2017.

 

 

The beginning of 2017 has already seen a lot of activity on the part of prospective tourists to Greece hoping to make early bookings and the major European tour operators are optimistic that the trend will continue throughout the year. The early signs are extremely encouraging:

  • Greece represents 17% of the total search for holiday destinations in 2017 for British holidaymakers who are keen to make early bookings, according to a major UK tour operator.
  • The Telegraph includes Greece and its islands as being within the seven best family holiday destinations for 2017, emphasising its beaches, cuisine, villages and culture as ideal for those seeking a value-for-money holiday in a prime location.
  • German tour operators have already seen a 5% rise in early bookings for 2017 with the greatest amount of interest relating to Greece, Spain and Portugal, the most popular destinations in Southern Europe for the German market.

 

On the whole, 2016 was a year in which Greece received immense positive feedback from the international travel press and continued to attract visitors from all corners of the globe. We are confident that this year it will maintain its position as the prime yachting destination in the Mediterranean!