January may not be over yet, but the first signs that 2025 will be another good year for Greek tourism, possibly even better than the new reference year 2024, are already here.
Air seat bookings for the first quarter of the year are showing a large increase of 16.6% for January, 18.1% for February and 15.5% for March, per the Airdata tracker platform of the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation (INSETE).
At the same time, the largest European tour operator, Tui, which brings about 4 million travelers to Greece annually – i.e. 11% of the total – announced it expects further growth this year.
The first anecdotal information from online hotel reservations is also encouraging, while the expected strengthening of the dollar against the euro suggests an increase in visitors from the US – one of the largest markets from which Greece attracts travelers and the country with the highest average per capita expenditure per trip.
Another pillar for further improvement is the continued strengthening of the Athens brand as a 12-month destination.
Market sources, however, point out that although the first indications are indeed encouraging, it is best to wait for the completion of the first quarter to get greater clarity in airline ticket and room reservations for the summer season. In addition, there is also a degree of caution related to geopolitical developments in both the Middle East and Ukraine. “Demand for Greek holiday destinations in Greece this summer is once again positive in all markets served by Tui in Europe,” the German tourism organization announced after its CEO, Sebastian Ebel, met Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens last week. Tui speaks of “continuous positive growth of tourism in Greece in recent years” and calls the country “a European success story.”
“Tui expects further growth in Greece in 2025 and will continue to cooperate with its Greek partners for future development,” it said in a statement. It estimates that Greece will also benefit from Tui’s global strategy in Latin America and Asia, since packages for trips to Greece will now be offered to the Asian and American markets.