Germany, the UK, and Bulgaria emerged as the primary catalysts behind Greece's tourism surge in 2023, as per recent data unveiled by INSETE, the Greek Tourism Confederation’s research body.
Last year witnessed a remarkable influx of tourists, with 5 million German visitors, marking a notable 7 percent uptick from 2022. Similarly, 4.8 million British tourists graced Greek shores, reflecting a modest 1.5 percent increase, while Bulgaria recorded a substantial surge with 2.9 million arrivals, soaring by 56 percent.
The Top 10 source markets included Italy, France, the US, Romania, the Netherlands, Poland, and Albania. However, traditional market France experienced a slight downturn of 1 percent compared to the previous year.
Among Greece's regions, Crete, the South Aegean, and the North Aegean stood out for their robust performance in terms of spending per capita.
Overall, Greece welcomed 36.13 million visitors across its 13 regions, marking a notable 15.2 percent increase from 2022's 31.36 million visitors. Epirus Region notably reported the most significant surge, soaring by 58.1 percent.
Despite the overall rise in tourist arrivals, nights spent in 2023 witnessed a marginal increase of 5.1 percent to 227.9 million. Notably, most regions experienced a decline in nights spent, except for Epirus, which saw a remarkable upswing of 35.9 percent.
In terms of revenue generation, Crete led the pack with 19.74 billion euros in 2023, representing a substantial 14.4 percent increase from 2022. Additionally, Crete reported the highest surge in travel receipts, soaring by 41.9 percent, with the highest spending per visitor at 941 euros, up by 31.5 percent. Conversely, Epirus reported the lowest expenditure at 193 euros, marking a decline of 19.7 percent.
Finally, the North Aegean Region recorded the longest duration of stay in 2023, averaging 9.8 nights, albeit experiencing a decrease of 10.2 percent. Conversely, Epirus reported the shortest stay duration at 2.5 nights, down by 14.0 percent.
(Source: GTP)
