*By Anna Konstantoulaki
Individual travellers are planning their holidays early to secure better prices, the president of the Hotel Managers“ Association tells ”P”.
“Explosive increase” exceeding 117% in direct online hotel bookings for Crete in 2026, by individual travellers who wish to take advantage of the lower prices they are able to secure, according to Nelios’s report.
The data relates to direct bookings by individual travellers on Greek hotel websites.
Nelios’ analysis showed that bookings for 2026 have increased by 33.3% compared with the corresponding period in 2024, whilst turnover also appears to have increased by 19.2%.
The growth in individual travellers is evident in almost all of the country’s top tourist destinations, with the exception of small – though highly likely to be reversed over the course of the season – declines compared with last year, recorded for Zakynthos, Rhodes, Santorini and Mykonos, heralding a season of particularly high tourist demand for Greece.
Significant increase in demand for Athens (+24%) and Thessaloniki (+67.7%)
Kos, Paros and Crete are in the lead.
Crete is leading the “race” among the islands
Among the Greek islands, Crete leads the way in terms of growth rates, recording increases of 117.5% and 164.66% in advance bookings and turnover, respectively.
The Ionian Islands follow, with pre-bookings up by 58.2% and turnover up by 129.5% compared with the same period last year.
Among the country’s major urban centres, Thessaloniki leads the way, with hotels recording a 67.7% increase in pre-bookings and a 56.2% increase in turnover compared with the same period last year. Athens has seen a 24% increase in pre-bookings and a 29.22% increase in turnover.
They take advantage of opportunities to get lower prices
Commenting on the findings of the analysis, Nelios’s CEO, Mr. Dimitris Serifis, stated: “We have noticed that international travellers are now very price-sensitive, and this leads them to systematically turn to early booking offers. The sharp rise in advance bookings for 2026 reflects precisely this trend: the appetite for travel is high, but many are booking early in order to take advantage of the low-price opportunities offered by advance bookings.
This trend creates a particularly favourable environment for 2026, both for the islands, which are experiencing impressive growth, and for the mainland destinations, which are set to further strengthen their position in Greek tourism in 2026.
“People want to travel, but they plan their holidays well in advance, in order to take advantage of special offers and generally get better prices,” the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Hotel Managers, Giorgos Pelecanakis, told “P”.
He noted that, in addition to individual travellers, tour operator The data shows an increase in advance bookings from the British market of around 10%–20%.
“It is still early to get an overall picture, but the the signs are positive ”for 2026 as well," he said.
Source: patris.gr