Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT)

Tourism and Culture Statistics Section

Pireos 46 & Eponiton str, 18510 Piraeus, Greece

The Survey on Qualitative Characteristics of Resident Tourists Survey is an annual sampling survey on households pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

It covers national tourism, i.e. domestic and outbound tourism. Data are collected on the number of resident tourists and their characteristics, e.g. age, sex, and on the number of tourism trips and their characteristics, e.g. main purpose of the trip, main destination, duration of the trip, main means of transport, main means of accommodation etc. Furthermore, data regarding same-day visits are collected.

Not applicable.

National tourism: domestic tourism and outbound tourism (trips made by residents of the reporting country).

All territories of Greece.

Coverage - Time [data comparable since (YYYY)]

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

2022

Data are transmitted to Eurostat and tourism statistics are disseminated to OECD and the UN World Tourism Organisation.

The issues concerning the observance of statistical confidentiality by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) are arranged by articles 7, 8 and 9 of the Law 3832/2010 as in force, by Articles 8, 10 and 11(2) of the Regulation on Statistical Obligations of the agencies of the Hellenic Statistical System and by Articles 10 and 15 of the Regulation on the Operation and Administration of ELSTAT.

More precisely:

ELSTAT disseminates the statistics in compliance with the statistical principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice and in particular with the principle of statistical confidentiality.  

Protection of personal data

ELSTAT abides by the commitments and obligations arising from the applicable EU and national legislation on the protection of the individual from the processing of personal data and the relevant decisions, guidelines and regulatory acts of the Hellenic Data Protection Authority.

Pursuant to the Regulation on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data [Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR)], ELSTAT implements the appropriate technical and organisational measures for ensuring adequate level of security against risks for the personal data it collects and has access to, in the context of carrying out its tasks, in order to meet the requirements of this Regulation and to protect these personal data from any unauthorised access or illegal processing.

The personal data collected by ELSTAT are used exclusively for purposes related to the conduct of surveys and the production of relevant statistics. Only ELSTAT has access to the data. The controller is the person appointed by law pursuant to the relevant provisions concerning the Legal Entities of Public Law and the Independent Authorities. The data are stored in the databases of ELSTAT for as long as required by the relevant legislation.

Legal basis of the processing: Article 6, para 1(c) and 1(d) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

https://www.statistics.gr/el/privacy-info

ELSTAT protects and does not disseminate data it has obtained or it has access to, which enable the direct or indirect identification of the statistical units that have provided them by the disclosure of individual information directly received for statistical purposes or indirectly supplied from administrative or other sources. ELSTAT takes all appropriate preventive measures so as to render impossible the identification of individual statistical units by technical or other means that might reasonably be used by a third party. Statistical data that could potentially enable the identification of the statistical unit are disseminated by ELSTAT if and only if:

a) these data have been treated, as it is specifically set out in the Regulation on Statistical Obligations of the agencies of the Hellenic Statistical System (ELSS), in such a way that their dissemination does not prejudice statistical confidentiality or

b) the statistical unit has given its consent, without any reservations, for the disclosure of data.

• The confidential data that are transmitted by ELSS agencies to ELSTAT are used exclusively for statistical purposes and the only persons who have the right to have access to these data are the personnel engaged in this task and appointed by an act of the President of ELSTAT.
• ELSTAT may grant researchers conducting statistical analyses for scientific purposes access to data that enable the indirect identification of the statistical units concerned. The access is granted provided the following conditions are satisfied:
  
  a) an appropriate request together with a detailed research proposal in conformity with current scientific standards have been submitted;
  
  b) the research proposal indicates in sufficient detail the set of data to be accessed, the methods of analyzing them, and the time needed for the research;
  
  c) a contract specifying the conditions for access, the obligations of the researchers, the measures for respecting the confidentiality of statistical data and the sanctions in case of breach of these obligations has been signed by the individual researcher, by his/her institution, or by the organization commissioning the research, as the case may be, and by ELSTAT.
Issues referring to the observance of statistical confidentiality are examined by the Statistical Confidentiality Committee (SCC) operating in ELSTAT. The responsibilities of this Committee are to make recommendations to the President of ELSTAT on:
• the level of detail at which statistical data can be disseminated, so as the identification, either directly or indirectly, of the surveyed statistical unit is not possible;
• the anonymization criteria for the microdata provided to users;
• the granting to researchers access to confidential data for scientific purposes.
• The staff of ELSTAT, under any employment status, as well as the temporary survey workers who are employed for the collection of statistical data in statistical surveys conducted by ELSTAT, who acquire access by any means to confidential data, are bound by the principle of confidentiality and must use these data exclusively for the statistical purposes of ELSTAT. After the termination of their term of office, they are not allowed to use these data for any purpose.
• Violation of data confidentiality and/or statistical confidentiality by any civil servant or employee of ELSTAT constitutes the disciplinary offence of violation of duty and may be punished with the penalty of final dismissal.
• ELSTAT, by its decision, may impose a penalty amounting from ten thousand (10,000) up to two hundred thousand (200,000) euros to anyone who violates the confidentiality of data and/or statistical confidentiality. The penalty is always imposed after the hearing of the defense of the person liable for the breach, depending on the gravity and the repercussions of the violation. Any relapse constitutes an aggravating factor for the assessment of the administrative sanction.
• Pursuant to the Regulation on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data [Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 27 April 2016 (General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR)], ELSTAT implements the appropriate technical and organisational measures for ensuring adequate level of security against risks for the personal data it collects and has access to, in the context of carrying out its tasks, in order to meet the requirements of this Regulation and to protect these personal data from any unauthorised access or illegal processing.

For the survey of Qualitative Characteristics of resident tourists, data are disseminated aggregated at country level and therefore unauthorized disclosure is prevented.

In September of each year, ELSTAT publishes a release calendar which includes the exact dates for the publication of all Press Releases for the following year.

The release calendar is available on the website of ELSTAT.

The data are made available to all users simultaneously, by posting relevant tables on the website of ELSTAT.

Equal access of users to data is governed by the European Statistics Code of Practice of Eurostat, by respecting scientific independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably.

The annual data are transmitted to Eurostat within 6 months after the end of the reference year and are published on the website of ELSTAT within 8 months after the end of the reference year.

A press release is published for each reference year on ELSTAT's website.

Data tables are posted on the website of ELSTAT.

Moreover, the survey results are published in the regular publications of ELSTAT, namely “Living Conditions in Greece”, “Greece in Figures”, as well as in a special publication issued for the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF).

There is no on-line database, but data are available at the website of ELSTAT.

Microdata are made available to users after submitting a request to:
Statistical Information and Publications Division
46 Pireos St. & Eponiton St. 185 10, Piraeus
Tel: +30 213 135 2022
Fax: +30 213 135 2312
e-mail: data.dissem@statistics.gr

For confidentiality reasons, users can have access to microdata, only under strict conditions and with respect to the relevant process.

Confidentiality of data is always ensured. More details on this issue are available on the website of ELSTAT.

Relevant data are available on the webpage of Eurostat.

The survey is compliant with Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Methodological note is available at the website of ELSTAT.

Further information on the definitions and the methodology of the survey are available in the Methodological Manual for Tourism Statistics.

Several quality management tools and processes have been developed in order to improve and assure the quality of the statistical output in accordance with the principles of the European Statistical System.

Metadata are 100% complete. 

https://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/2571f853-1e37-46da-9387-595bbe2a162b

The survey is compiled in compliance with Regulation 692/2011 and the European Statistics Code of Practice.

Additionally, the quality is ensured by the quality policy of ELSTAT.

For every data request, users are asked to fill in a questionnaire on user satisfaction.
More information on the latest results of the User Satisfaction Survey are made available by the Data Dissemination Section.

Overall accuracy of the survey data is good. The concepts and definitions of variables, as well as the survey methodology are in line with European standards and Regulation. The estimations methods which are used ensure the production of accurate results. Furthermore, an ESTAT tool (EDIT- EBB) is used to check and validate data.

13.2.1 Sampling errors - indicators

13.2.2 Additional comments on sampling error

13.3.1 Coverage errors

13.3.2 Unit non-response for TRIPS dataset

13.3.3 Unit non-response rate

13.3.4 Item non-response

13.3.5 Additional comments on non-sampling error 

(in case of second survey please briefly describe 13.3.1-13.3.4 here)

See 3.7 (in case of deviations for geographical coverage)

The available data are comparable with the corresponding data of the other EU Member States, since the survey is conducted in compliance with EU Regulation 692/2011. The survey fulfils the geographical comparability because the sample is representative of all regions of the country.

The survey data are not directly comparable with the corresponding data of the Household Budget Survey (HBS) and of the Accommodation Statistics, due to significant differences in the concepts, the reference period and/or the statistical population.

The data have internal coherence since there have been no significant changes in the definitions and methodology, which are pursuant to EU Regulation 692/2011.

The survey is conducted within an annual budget and is realized by external interviewers. The average time needed for filling each questionnaire is estimated to 20 minutes.

The data are revised, when necessary, in accordance with the Circular on the Revision Policy of ELSTAT.

Data for reference year 2022 were revised 18 days after the deadline.

18.1.1. Source data

18.1.2. Population frame

18.1.3. Gross sample size (year, individuals)

18.1.4. Net sample size (year, individuals)

18.1.5. Sampling design

18.1.6. Second survey or source

18.3.1. Type of survey

18.3.2. Data collection methods

18.3.3. Proxy interviews

18.3.4. Average interview time (The average interview time is X minutes.)

18.3.5 Second survey or source

Not applicable.

[Optional]