Greece breaks records: 40.7 million tourists 2024!

Greece breaks records: 40.7 million tourists 2024!

Greece celebrated a record year in tourism with 40.7 million international guests and thus recorded an increase of 12.8 percent compared to the previous year. The income from tourism climbed to 21.7 billion euros, which means more than a billion euros more than 2023. These impressive numbers underline the continued attractiveness of the country for travelers from all over the world. In particular, the number of travelers from the EU turned out to be dominant, since this group contributes more than half of the tourism income and brings a total of 11.9 billion euros to the Greek economy, as reports [aviation.direct]

Travelers from the euro zone, which spend a total of 9.5 billion euros, formed the largest group of visitors. Among the European holidaymakers, the Germans contributed a considerable part of tourism sales with 3.7 billion euros. In contrast, Greece recorded declines from guests from Great Britain, France and Russia, while the numbers from the USA and Italy climbed.

popular travel regions

The Attika region, which lies around the capital Athens, attracted most visitors, while the southern Aegean, especially the popular islands of Rhodes and Santorin, recorded the highest income and accommodation. This is reflected in the non -resident overnight stays, which rose to 240.8 million in 2024, which corresponds to an increase of 1.9 percent compared to the previous year. The overnight stays of EU27 residents rose by 4.9 percent, while the number of overnight stays of non-EU residents decreased by 3.9 percent, according to [Keeptalkinggreece].

economic effects and challenges

The income from cruises also rose significantly to 1.11 billion euros, which corresponds to an increase of 22.4 percent compared to 2023. While tourism income from other countries, such as from England and France, decreased, income from Italian and American tourists had a growth of 13.6 percent or 15.3 percent.

experts warn of possible negative consequences of the ongoing tourism boom. The burden on water resources and other ecological aspects could lead to challenges for the Greek tourism industry in the coming years. It is therefore important to develop a sustainable tourism strategy that takes into account both the economic advantages and the protection of natural resources.