Positive messages are broadcast by Greek tourism For 2025, confirming its dynamics even in an environment of high uncertainty.
According to a new report by the Directorate of Economic Analysis of the National Bank of Greece, tourism performance is upward, with the Air arrivals to record 10% rise In the first quarter of the year and the scheduled airfares for the May -October period to move by 4%. Optimism is also reinforced by the upward -moving hotels.
Specifically, the indicator of future activity is superior to Mediterranean competition (January – April: 45 versus 7 points above the long -term average). The image of employment is also positivewith the first quarter of the year closing with 27,000 net recruitments.
Small and medium -sized hotel businesses expect a 5% increase in arrivals in 2025 (compared to 10% in 2024). In this light, it is estimated that in 2025 Greek tourism can achieve a performance of around 3% -5% (compatible with the estimated trend of world tourism), continuing the upward trend of recent years, despite the temporary “numbness” caused by seismic activity in the Cyclades.
As noted in the National Bank report, the above expectations are accompanied by uncertainty, as international geopolitical and economic developments affect travel costs (for example the consumer confidence index in the main markets of origin of Europe (Germany, Germany, Germany, Germany, Germany) term.
With Greek tourism continuing the upward performance in arrivals (+63% in 2013 – 2024), interest is now shifting from records to the development model.
The importance of distant shopping of origin
Particular emphasis is placed on the medium -term extroversion strategy, with Greece investing in the so -called “long haul” markets such as the US and China. A coordinated strategy of attracting tourists from distant markets is estimated to allow Greece to increase tourist arrivals and transition to a new model of tourism, less seasonality and higher expenditure per arrival (utilizing the quality of distant markets).
Recent winter performance,
- maintained the tendency to reduce arrival seasonality ( +9% per year, compared to +6% per year in the summer 2024),
- They reinforced Greece’s share in the Mediterranean market (2.5%, from 2.4% in the winter of 2024), while at the same time
- confirm the upper voltage in the markets of origin. Specifically, the highest momentum was found in the arrivals of tourists from the US (+33%) – a traditional long haul market for Greek tourism – which contributed to the rise.
In fact, it stands out against other “traditional” European markets for Greece for:
- The best seasonal profile, since ½ of tourists arrives in our country out of summer (against ⅓ for other countries)
- Twice spent per arrival compared to other markets, which even increased in the winter of 2025 by 19% (per year in real terms), highly offset the 5% decline in large European markets (France, Germany and UK).
The catalyst for the above perspective is the strengthening of airlines (direct and indirect) with distant markets such as the US (reaching about 100 flights/week in summer 2025, almost twice as high as a pandemic), but also China (reaching about 12 flights/week 20).
It is noted that the addition of new points of origin from China not only allow 2019 to exceed, but places Greek tourism in an advantage to exploit the strong dynamics of this market for the next decade (almost ½ of the new wave of tourists to Europe is expected to come from Asia).
The ‘mature’ tourist destinations are durable
With the new trends of tourism demand already obvious in terms of emerging markets, the report examines how individual tourist destinations respond to current challenges. It is noted that the recent Junior Survey conducted by the National Bank for the third consecutive year in a sample of 200 SMEs in the hotel industry, a two -speed image is largely highlighted, with the most “mature” tourist destinations showing higher mobility.
Focusing on the broader financial image, the ‘mature’ tourist destinations (Aegean and Halkidiki) show elements of higher durability. In particular, while recognizing the high pressure exerted by the international context in the industry (79% versus 91% of the sector), they are more optimistic about the future as they excel in indicators such as future demand (64 points versus 38 points) and future growth (70% of the growth sector, versus 49%).
The superiority of hotel media in the “mature” tourist areas is linked to the strategic investment options of the previous three years, and the emphasis on business growth. More specifically, these SMEs were distinguished for their more intense investment activity (70% versus 58% of the sector), spending a higher proportion of their sales (21% versus 16%).
In addition, however, they have shown a stronger targeting to strengthen their resilience, with 31% seeking an increase in size, and 15% of the development of partnerships with other clusters, compared to only 11% and 4% respectively in the other media in the industry.
In fact, The ‘mature’ tourist hotel media stand out for their investment abilityas they were more active investment in the previous period, they recognize to a greater extent the need for additional investment in the future. More specifically, 34% of the SMEs in the sector recognize that the amount of investment they implemented was lower than the required (compared to 10% in the rest of the regions), with implementation delays emerging as one of the main reasons for the lag (22% of the sector).
Necessary alignment with new trends in tourism
Investment mobility in ‘mature’ tourist areas is not only limited to growing businesses, but also prepares them to respond to the new conditions that are shaping the changes in customer preferences.
More specifically, the Greek media in the hotel industry recognize their increased interest in digital services (72%), local activities (61%) and products (59%) and environmental footprint (49%). However, hotel media in the “mature” tourist areas have been the last two years more active in trying to cover these preferences.
In particular, 59% of the SMEs in the sector implemented digital marketing actions, compared to just 36% in the other areas. A similar picture also appears at the level of partnerships with local businesses (49% of the sector, compared to 28% in the others), resulting in better opportunities to provide integrated tourist experience enriched with particular local elements (nature, gastronomy, culture).
Higher is the degree of response to their customers’ environmental concerns, with 54% implementing energy upgrading actions, compared to just 25% in the other areas.
As global tourism is transformed due to changes in tourists’ preferences and the emergence of new markets, the difference in the intensity of investment between the individual areas works in the direction of expanding the gap between “mature” and other tourist destinations.
The profile of the modern tourist changes, with an emphasis on authentic experiences and sustainable practices. Businesses that manage to integrate these preferences seem to play a leading role in the country’s new model of tourism development.