Greece reached new tourism heights in 2025, recording record visitor arrivals and revenue in a year that Minister for Tourism, Olga Kefalogianni, has described as the “best ever.”
Bank of Greece figures show inbound traffic increased by 5.6% to hit 37.98 million visitors, compared to 35.95 million in 2024 (not including cruise passengers). But in what is the third consecutive year of growth in the Greek sector, it is the revenue of €23.6 billion, representing a gain of 9.4% year-on-year and therefore outstripping arrivals, that has people talking.
Kefalogianni noted that revenue gains were almost double the growth in arrivals and, with overtourism a concern in many destinations, framed the shift as a positive in terms of the sector’s sustainability. “For the first time, we see revenues growing at a much higher percentage than arrivals. This shows that we are gradually improving in qualitative indicators. This is the direction of qualitative development for Greek tourism,” she said.
When it comes to source markets, the increase in arrivals from outside the European Union outpaced EU visitor growth by 7.2%. EU arrivals increased by 2.8%, whereas non-EU visitors, including those from the United Kingdom and the United States, grew by 10%.
Germany sent 10.2% more visitors to Greece, reaching a total of 5.95 million; Italy sent 8.6% more, reaching 2.2 million visitors; but France sent 0.5% fewer visitors, dropping to 1.98 million in total.
As usual, the UK proved an important market, sending 7.6% more visitors than the previous year, amounting to 4.89 million in total. What’s more, UK visitors spent a whopping €3.74 billion, an increase of 18.5% on 2024 and one of the highest amounts.
More Americans went to Greece in 2025, too, with the figures showing a slight increase of 0.2%, taking the total to 1.55 million US visitors. Significantly, they spent €1.72 billion, or 8.5% more year-on-year. Overall, average spending per trip increased by 3.8% in 2024, in line with long-term responsible tourism and economic targets.
Meanwhile, the travel balance—the difference between money brought in from foreign tourists (exports) and money spent by Greek holidaymakers abroad (imports)—achieved a surplus of €20.25 billion, up 7.77% from 2024. With tourism alone, Greece managed to offset nearly 60% of its trade deficit.
Looking forward to 2026, Kefalogianni saw a bright future for the Greek sector, saying: “The first data for 2026 create optimistic prospects, as another positive year for the sector is looming.”
