By: Nikos Krinis
Greeks travelled more both within Greece and abroad in 2025, spending more than 4.1 billion euros on holidays and business trips as overall travel activity continued to grow, according to new data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
A total of 5.4 million residents of all ages made at least one trip during the year, totalling 9.6 million trips. Compared with 2024, the number of travellers increased by 7.2 per cent, the number of trips rose by 11 per cent, overnight stays reached 85.8 million (+5.5 per cent) and travel expenditure climbed by 11.3 per cent to 4.12 billion euros.
More Trips, Higher Spending
Among residents aged 15 and over, 4.6 million people travelled in 2025, making 8.2 million trips — an increase of 13 per cent year-on-year. Their travel expenditure rose by 12.5 per cent to 3.86 billion euros, whilst overnight stays increased by 7.4 per cent to 74.3 million.
Personal travel continued to dominate, accounting for 97 per cent of all trips, whilst just 3 per cent were made for business purposes. Compared with 2024, personal trips increased by 13.7 per cent, expenditure rose by 13.3 per cent, overnight stays grew by 7.4 per cent and the number of residents taking at least one personal trip increased by 8.7 per cent.
Domestic Travel Still Dominates
Domestic tourism continued to account for the vast majority of personal travel in 2025. Residents aged 15 and over made 6.74 million domestic trips, representing 85 per cent of all personal journeys, compared with 1.19 million outbound trips (15 per cent).
Spending on domestic travel reached 2.70 billion euros, up 12.3 per cent year-on-year, whilst expenditure on outbound trips rose by a faster rate of 16.3 per cent to 983.7 million euros.
Among outbound trips, Italy remained the most popular destination, accounting for 12.9 per cent of all trips abroad, followed by Albania (11.9 per cent), Germany (6.7 per cent), the United Kingdom (6.5 per cent) and France (5.4 per cent).
Older Travellers and Short Breaks Drive Growth
The strongest growth was recorded among travellers aged 65 and over, whose numbers rose by 24 per cent compared with 2024. Trips by this age group rose by 28.5 per cent, expenditure increased by 21 per cent and overnight stays climbed by 12.1 per cent, making older travellers one of the fastest-growing segments of the travel market.
ELSTAT also found that short breaks of one to three nights saw the largest increase of all trip durations. Such trips rose by 26.7 per cent, whilst expenditure increased by 21.6 per cent and overnight stays by 27.8 per cent.
Land Transport Remains the Main Choice
Land transport remained by far the most popular means of travel for Greeks, accounting for 5.3 million personal journeys, followed by 1.4 million journeys by air and 1.3 million by sea. Land travel also recorded the largest increase in absolute terms, rising by 12.6 per cent compared with the previous year.
More than half (52.1 per cent) of personal trips involved non-rented accommodation, such as holiday homes or stays with relatives and friends, whilst 47.9 per cent involved rented accommodation. Trips involving rented accommodation rose by 14.3 per cent, slightly outpacing the 13.1 per cent growth recorded for non-rented accommodation.
Among personal trips, the most common duration was four to seven days, accounting for 40.7 per cent of domestic travel and 49.5 per cent of trips abroad. Average daily expenditure stood at 76.7 euros for domestic trips and 152.7 euros for trips abroad.
Cost Remains the Biggest Barrier
Despite the increase in travel, affordability remained the main obstacle preventing many Greeks from taking personal trips. According to ELSTAT, 56.4 per cent of respondents who did not travel cited financial reasons as the primary barrier, followed by health reasons (20.8 per cent) and work commitments (16.7 per cent).
Source: news.gtp.gr