Greek tourism breaks records: Over 40 million visitors in 2024!

Greek tourism breaks records: Over 40 million visitors in 2024!

Piräus, Griechenland - Greece achieved a new record in tourism in 2024. With over 40.7 million visitors, the country generated income of around 21.6 billion euros, as reported by the Greek central bank. Compared to the previous year, this is a clear increase that underlines the success of the Greek tourism sector. Tourism Minister Olga Kefaloganni even expects income of 22 billion euros for 2024 because the industry linger at a stable.

A central driver of this growth was cruise tourism. A total of 1.112 billion euros were generated in income from this sector, which corresponds to an increase of 22.4 percent compared to 2023. An estimated five million cruise passengers visited Greek ports last year, and the number of cruise passengers rose by 43.8 percent to 5.01 million.

growth despite challenges

The Greek tourism industry has made remarkable progress in recent years. As early as 2023, the number of tourists of the pre -crisis year 2019 was clearly exceeded. In the first ten months of 2023, 20.93 billion euros flowed into the country through tourism, which meant that more income was achieved than throughout the previous year. This positive development reflects a general interest in Greece, even in years in which heat waves and extreme weather events influenced the number of visitors.

The summer of 2024 was the warmest and driest in decades, with an increase in the heat days and around 9,500 forest fires in all of Greece. Despite these challenges, numerous visitors have started to avoid the hot summer months and travel increasingly in spring and autumn. This meant that in Athens and on popular destinations such as Rhodes and Lesbos, the number of arriving guests in September and October increased by up to 46 percent.

cruise ports and tourist priorities

Especially the port of Piraeus played an outstanding role in cruise tourism. He generated 48.5 percent of all cruise income and had the highest proportion of arrivals from cruise ships. In third place, Corfu and Heraklion follow 11.8 percent and 8 percent of the income. In total, the seven most important cruise ports generated 90.5 percent of the total cruise income and recorded 82 percent of all cruise passenger visits.

The Greek islands remain particularly popular with foreign vacationers, with Germans and British represent the largest groups. Crete, Rhodes and Kos are the most visited travel destinations, while the Cyclades arelands like Mykonos record a decline in visitor numbers.

The Greek government actively pursues strategies to extend the travel season and slow down over tourism. For the coming years, the bookings are already 15 percent above the previous year's level. This growth and adaptations of the sector are crucial for the economic stability of the country, since tourism contributes around 20 percent to the gross domestic product and secures every fifth workplace.

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