The three countries that give a big bonus to Greek tourism

Written by Vickis Corlepini

German, British and French tourists are the three largest “sources” of Greek tourism income, as shown by the latest study “Evolution of tourist volumes and indicators of the main inbound tourism markets in Greece, 2019-2023” prepared by INSETE. The top five is completed by the United States and Italy.

The study analyses data by market in terms of arrivals, overnight stays and receipts, while key indicators such as average spend per capita, average spend per night and average length of stay are also included.

German tourists

Inbound tourism from Germany increased by +18.3% in 2019-2023 (from 4 million in 2019 to 4.8 million in 2023). In 2022-2023, the number of arrivals from Germany increased by +9.5% (from 4.4 million in 2022 to 4.8 million in 2023). The German market share in terms of arrivals in 2023 was 14.6%.

The most popular destinations for tourists from Germany to Greece were the Southern Aegean, Crete and Central Macedonia.

In terms of overnight stays, in the period 2019-2023 there was an increase of +17.0% (from 37.3 million in 2019 to 43.6 million in 2023) while in the period 2022-2023 there was a marginal increase. The German market share in terms of overnight stays was 19.1%, in terms of revenues it was 18.1%. The majority of revenues in 2023 occurred in the third quarter (53.1%).

British tourists

Inbound tourism from the UK in 2019-23 increased by +31.2% (from 3.5 million in 2019 to 4.6 million in 2023). In 2022-23, arrivals from the UK increased by +2.4% (from 4.5 million in 2022 to 4.6 million in 2023). The UK market share in terms of arrivals in 2023 was 14%. Meanwhile, the most popular destinations for tourists from the UK last year were the Southern Aegean, the Ionian Islands and Attica.

Revenue from the United Kingdom in the period 2019-2023 showed an increase of +28.5% (from €2.6 billion in 2019 to €3.3 billion in 2023) while, on the contrary, in the period 2022-2023 an increase of +5.3% (from €3.1 billion in 2022 to €3.3 billion in 2023).

French visitors

In the period 2022-2023, the picture in the individual headline figures for inbound tourism from France was mixed.

especially:
• Expatriates: +4.2% (from 1.8 million in 2022 to 1.8 million in 2023),
• Overnight stays: -1.5% (from 14.8 million in 2022 to 14.6 million in 2023) and
• Revenue: +11.6% (from €1.3 billion in 2022 to €1.4 billion in 2023).

As also noted in the study, the full lifting of travel restrictions globally in 2023, including in Asian markets, where travel restrictions were already lifted in the rest of the markets as of Q1 2022, has led to inbound tourism exceeding pre-pandemic levels in terms of arrivals (+4.4%) and receipts (+11.7%), while still remaining below in terms of overnight stays (-1.9%).

In the period 2022-2023, all key figures for domestic tourism showed an increase.

especially:
• Expatriates: +17.6% (from 27.8 million in 2022 to 32.7 million in 2023),
• Overnight stays: +5.1% (from 216.9 million in 2022 to 227.9 million in 2023) and
• Revenue: +14.4% (from €17.3 billion in 2022 to €19.7 billion in 2023).