The sharp rise in foreign tourist arrivals and revenue in Greece following the pandemic was not reflected to the same extent across all regions of the country, as some destinations significantly strengthened their position, whilst others recorded more modest results.
At the same time, the increase in tourist numbers did not stem exclusively from the traditional source markets, but was also driven by the growth of emerging markets, which gradually increased their share of the country’s inbound tourism.
The above is included in Alpha Bank’s new Financial Developments Bulletin.
Following the rapid recovery after the pandemic, Greek tourism recorded historically high figures for both visitor arrivals and tourism receipts for three consecutive years, from 2023 to 2025.
Compared with the pre-pandemic record levels of 2019, tourist arrivals are set to increase by 21% by 2025, whilst travel receipts are set to increase by 28%.
As a result, Greece’s share of global tourist arrivals rose from 2.1% in 2019 to 2.5% in 2025.
Cruise tourism also performed particularly well, with the number of arrivals and revenue having doubled compared with 2019, and both reaching historically high levels.
The upward trend continued in the first half of 2026. Travel receipts rose by almost 15% year-on-year, whilst tourist arrivals rose by 15.4%.
At the same time, despite a slight fall compared with the corresponding half of 2025, the average expenditure per trip remained 12% higher than 2019 levels.
Available data on air arrivals suggest that the positive trend continued in July, with international passenger traffic rising by 5.3% year-on-year at Athens International Airport and by 5.2% at regional airports.
The remarkable rise in Greek tourism following the pandemic, however, was not reflected in the same way across all regions of the country.
Some destinations significantly strengthened their position, whilst others recorded more moderate results. At the same time, the increase in tourist numbers did not come exclusively from traditional source countries but was also driven by the growth of emerging markets, which gradually increased their share of inbound tourism to the country.
This Bulletin sets out the trends in the key figures for Greek tourism for the period 2019–2025, with a focus on regional and country-of-origin differences.
The main conclusions are as follows:
- Attica emerged as the region that benefited most from the post-pandemic period, significantly increasing its share of both visitor numbers and tourism revenue.
- The South Aegean and Crete retain their dominant position, continuing to attract a significant proportion of tourism demand. At the same time, new, dynamic destinations are emerging, such as Epirus, which are experiencing high growth rates in tourist visits and corresponding revenue.
- Germany and the UK remain the most important countries of origin for visitors, further strengthening their contribution to Greek tourism. However, emerging markets, such as Albania, Spain and some Scandinavian countries, are also increasing their presence.
The regions that strengthened their position in Greek tourism after 2019
Attica and Epirus are among the regions that have seen the largest percentage increase over the last six years, in terms of both tourism revenue and visitor numbers.
In particular, travel receipts in Attica in 2025 rose by 125% compared with 2019, whilst tourist visits increased by 64%.
As a result, the region’s share of total travel receipts rose to 26% from 15% before the pandemic, whilst the corresponding share of visitor arrivals stood at 23%, compared with 16% in 2019.
This development is linked, on the one hand, to Athens’ growing appeal as a city-break destination and, on the other hand, to the significant improvement in tourist infrastructure and the growth of the short-term rental market.
For example, the number of four- and five-star hotels in Attica increased by a combined 30% between 2019 and 2025, whilst the number of short-term rental properties increased by the same percentage between 2019 and 2024.
The combined effect of the above factors contributes to the expansion of tourist activity beyond the summer months and, consequently, to a reduction in seasonality.
In Epirus, tourism revenue rose by 57% and visitor numbers by 69% in 2025 compared with 2019, a fact which, to some extent, is linked to the significant increase in tourist numbers from Albania.
Despite this significant increase, the region still accounts for a relatively small proportion of total Greek tourism, with a share of approximately 4% of visitor numbers and 2% of tourism revenue.
The South Aegean and Crete, two of the country’s most important tourist regions, which account for a total of one third of visits by non-residents and contribute almost half of tourism receipts, have further improved their performance over the last six years.
On the other hand, in some regions of mainland Greece, such as Western Macedonia, Thessaly and Western Greece, as well as the North Aegean, tourism figures are still below pre-pandemic levels, which suggests that the benefits of the recovery in tourism are not distributed evenly across the country.
In Western Macedonia, losses appear to be mainly linked to a fall in visitor numbers from Balkan markets, such as Romania and Bulgaria, despite an increase in visitor numbers and revenue from Albania.
Furthermore, in Western Macedonia, Thessaly and the North Aegean, a slight decrease in hotel capacity is recorded between 2019 and 2025. However, this change is accompanied by signs of an improvement in quality, with an increase in the number of beds and rooms in higher categories (four and five stars) and a reduction in lower categories.
Overall, these developments reflect both changes in travellers’ preferences and the varying growth trends of individual destinations in the post-pandemic period.
In this context, projects implemented through the Recovery and Resilience Fund, such as the upgrading of mountain infrastructure, investments in tourist ports, spa facilities, diving parks and accessible beaches, are expected to boost the appeal of less developed destinations and contribute to a more balanced geographical distribution of tourism activity.
The markets driving Greece’s tourism boom
The outlook was positive for most European markets, which saw an increase in tourist numbers and related revenue.
More specifically, Germany and the UK, the two most important markets for Greek tourism, further consolidated their position in the post-pandemic period.
In 2025, arrivals from the two countries increased by 48% and 40%, respectively, compared with 2019. As a result, their overall share of arrivals reached 29%, marking an increase compared with the end of the previous decade. The trend in travel receipts was also positive, with an increase of 28% for the German market and 46% for the British market.
At the same time, Italy and France continued to make a significant contribution, with both countries also recording a significant increase in both arrivals and tourism receipts during the same period.
The highest increases in receipts between 2019 and 2025 were recorded by Sweden, Denmark, the USA and Albania. Arrivals from each of the two Nordic countries increased by around 50%, whilst their respective travel receipts doubled. Although their shares remain relatively limited, they have grown over the last six years, particularly in terms of their share of total travel receipts.
At the same time, Albania emerged as one of the most dynamic markets for Greek tourism, ranking seventh in terms of its share of total arrivals.
The US – the most important long-haul market – further strengthened its position, whilst Spain almost doubled its arrivals in Greece – although its share remains relatively low (1.5%) – and increased travel receipts by 46%.
In contrast, the markets in Canada and Australia, as well as Cyprus, have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, whilst the Russian market has shrunk drastically since 2022.
According to recent studies by INSETE, long-haul markets offer significant potential for further growth in the sector, thanks to the high demand for long-distance and long-duration travel, as well as the growing awareness of Greece.
To capitalise on these opportunities, a targeted strategy is required for each market, strengthening connectivity and highlighting the country’s comparative advantages, such as its culture, gastronomy, coastal tourism, natural beauty, etc.
Source: newstourism.gr