Greece is on track to deliver yet another landmark tourism performance in 2025, with new data showing that foreign arrivals have continued their robust rise and the country could be heading for record-breaking annual figures. According to the latest Bank of Greece statistics, the Mediterranean nation welcomed 31.6 million international visitors between January and the end of September, marking a 4 per cent increase over the comparable period last year as demand for Greek destinations remains high among global travellers.
Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni expressed confidence in the sector’s momentum, saying that officials now expect 2025 to surpass previous records in both visitor numbers and overall tourism activity. In a statement to the Greek news agency ANA, she also indicated that early indicators for 2026 are “particularly encouraging”, underlining sustained optimism about the industry’s prospects into next year.
The surge follows a strong performance throughout 2024, when Greece recorded 40.7 million tourists, a 12.8 per cent increase on 2023, and set new benchmarks for post-pandemic recovery. That rebound has been driven by the enduring appeal of Greece’s sunny islands, spectacular coastline, historical sites and cultural attractions, which continue to attract visitors from both Europe and long-haul markets.
Behind these headline figures lies a more nuanced picture of tourism economics. Recent analyses show that Greece’s tourism receipts for the first nine months of 2025 surpassed €20 billion, up around 9 per cent year-on-year, according to Bank of Greece data compiled by industry observers. While the overall result underscores sustained demand, September figures revealed a decline in per-visitor spending, suggesting that tourists may be tightening their budgets even as arrivals rise.
In particular, average spending per trip in September fell sharply compared with the previous year, even as monthly arrivals continued to grow. That trend has prompted some analysts to question whether the country’s tourism growth model — heavily reliant on volume — will be able to maintain its current level of economic significance without more emphasis on higher-value travel and diversified offerings.
The performance of the tourism sector remains central to Greece’s economic landscape. In 2024, tourism directly contributed about 13 per cent of the country’s GDP and, when accounting for indirect effects, more than 30 per cent, according to the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation. This high dependency highlights the importance of managing growth sustainably amid broader challenges.
Concerns have emerged around some negative side-effects of tourism expansion, including unchecked construction in popular hotspots and the rapid proliferation of short-term holiday rentals, which have been blamed for inflating housing costs and straining local infrastructure, particularly in Athens and on the islands.
Greece’s tourism industry also faces environmental pressures. Climate change-driven heatwaves and increasingly severe wildfires have posed risks to travel seasons in recent years, underscoring the need for resilience and adaptive planning in the face of global warming.
Despite these challenges, the surge in travel continues to position Greece as one of Europe’s most visited and economically reliant tourism destinations, with policymakers and industry leaders preparing to build on this year’s strong performance as they look ahead to 2026.
