The travelling dynamics of the Greek diaspora in the post-2010 era
The new Greek emigration has had a big impact on the Greek diaspora, especially in Europe where most of the new migrants headed to. It has also impacted on its travelling dynamics. Travel to/from Greece among Greeks living abroad has drastically increased in the past few years currently constituting an important part of Athens International Airport’s (AIA) traffic. Specifically, in 2018 Greek diaspora travelers accounted for 7% of the total traffic of the AIA and 12% of the AIA travelers residing abroad. It has also affected domestic Greeks’ traveling dynamics with many more people travelling abroad to visit their friends and relatives who left; their travels present an additional 5% of the total traffic of AIA in 2018.
The presentation
Given those developments, the aim of the presentation was to explore the changing traveling patterns of the Greek diaspora over time as seen through data collected at AIA, the main point of entrance to Greece. It further addresses the demographic and socioeconomic profile of the Greek diaspora travelers, their geographical distribution as well as their ties with Greece and future plans. Finally, it pays attention to the differences between those members of the diaspora who had left Greece in earlier years and those who left in recent years as part of the new mass emigration outflow that took place in Greece in the years of the crisis.
The data
It draws on two datasets compiled at AIA namely, the Passenger Survey and the Brain Drain survey. The Passengers Survey is an annual survey with a sample of 40,000 interviews on departing passengers that is representative of the airport’s traffic structure and seasonality pattern. Its aims are to 1) monitor passengers demographic profile, in order to categorize them in different target groups depending on specific characteristics 2) register basic information of passengers’ travelling behaviour and depict potential trends for aviation route development and 3) identify passengers’ basic commercial habits related to the airport, assisting on services and facilities developmental actions.
The Brain Drain survey is a more detailed survey focusing on Greek citizens that was conducted once in the context of the Passengers survey in the period 08.07.2019-22.09.2019. It comprises 2029 interviews: 305 interviews on Greeks living abroad and 1724 interviews on Greeks living in Greece of which 507 interviews with Greek people visiting friends & relatives abroad (VFR). The aims of that survey were 1) to monitor the characteristics of Greeks living abroad regarding their demographic, travelling and professional profile as well as the initiatives taken in order to promote Greece abroad and 2) monitor the characteristics of Greeks living in Greece and specifically for those visiting Greek diaspora regarding their demographic, travelling and professional profile.
Publicity and the pdf of the presentation
Reports on the presentation in the Greek press, can be found here and here
The pdf of the presentation can be accessed here
More information about the event can be found here