Five Key Trends and Major Challenges Facing Greek Tourism

Greek tourism is undergoing a significant transformation, marked by more frequent but shorter trips, rising revenues, growing cruise activity and a gradual improvement in seasonality, according to the Annual Tourism Report 2024released by the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation (INSETE).

The report, which includes detailed annual analyses of Greece’s 13 regions, highlights five key trends shaping the sector since 2019: shorter stays and fewer overnight visits, stronger branding in major Western European markets, increased tourism receipts, rapid growth in cruise tourism, and a notable strengthening of tourism activity in Attica and Athens.

Despite record-high arrivals and revenues in 2024, overnight stays have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Tourism receipts excluding cruises rose by 16.5% compared to 2019, reaching €20.59 billion in 2024, according to Bank of Greece data. Arrivals increased by 14.7% to 35.95 million visitors, while overnight stays fell slightly by 0.6% to just over 231 million. The average length of stay declined by 13.3% to 6.4 days.

Attica emerged as the strongest contributor across all indicators, particularly in revenues, which nearly doubled from €2.59 billion in 2019 to more than €4.75 billion in 2024. The region also recorded a significant rise in overnight stays, offsetting declines seen across much of the country.

Regionally, Epirus posted strong double-digit growth rates across arrivals, revenues and overnight stays, albeit from a smaller base. Crete and the Ionian Islands recorded more modest increases, while the South Aegean, Central Greece and Western Greece saw higher revenues despite fewer overnight stays. Northern Aegean showed rising revenues and overnight stays despite fewer visitors. In contrast, Eastern Macedonia–Thrace, the Peloponnese, Thessaly and Western Macedonia experienced declines across all key indicators, while Central Macedonia saw more arrivals but lower revenues and overnight stays.

Seasonality patterns are also shifting. While total overnight stays remained broadly stable between 2019 and 2024, overnight stays during the peak third quarter fell by 11%, with a 13% increase spread across the remaining quarters. This shift has affected revenues, as the peak summer period traditionally generates the highest spending per night.

Higher revenues have been driven in part by changes in the mix of source markets. Spending from the top five markets—Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Italy—has increased, reflecting higher per-capita expenditure. INSETE attributes this trend partly to the strengthening of Greece’s international brand during the pandemic. Revenue from U.S. visitors alone, including cruise tourism, rose by €746 million, accounting for 22% of the total €3.4 billion increase in tourism receipts.

Cruise tourism has shown particularly strong growth. Revenues from cruises exceeded €1 billion in 2024, up from €499 million in 2019, while cruise arrivals climbed from 2.7 million to 4.7 million passengers. The surge is partly attributed to expanded direct air links between Athens International Airport and major U.S. cities.

Challenges Ahead

The report identifies climate change as a major challenge, citing extreme heat and severe weather events that affect both demand and supply. These conditions underline the need for investment in resilient infrastructure, energy efficiency and environmental upgrades, as well as improved environmental certification of hotels, where Greece lags behind competitors.

Workforce training and skills development are also highlighted as critical, with employees seen as one of Greek tourism’s strongest competitive advantages due to service quality and the tradition of hospitality.

High VAT rates and the Climate Crisis Levy are cited as significant burdens on competitiveness, particularly for smaller hotel units, squeezing profitability and limiting geographic and seasonal expansion. Access to bank financing remains limited for many small and medium-sized tourism businesses.

Digital transformation, diversification of the tourism product and, above all, clear and effective spatial planning are identified as essential priorities for sustainable development across destinations.

INSETE Director General Ilias Kikilias said Greek tourism confirmed its strong role in 2024, with positive momentum continuing into 2025. He stressed that long-term competitiveness depends on strategic planning, effective destination governance, sustainable development and rational taxation, noting that these measures are crucial to ensuring broader benefits for local communities.