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Greece earned 6,928.6 million euros more from tourism than Greek residents spent traveling abroad in the first six months of 2026, up from a surplus of 6,012.2 million euros in the same period of 2025, according to data from the Bank of Greece. The bank refers to this figure as the travel balance, the gap between what foreign visitors spend in Greece and what Greek residents spend when they travel to other countries.

Money spent by visitors in Greece, known as travel receipts, rose by 1,131.9 million euros, or 14.8%, to reach 8,796.3 million euros between January and June. Spending by Greek residents traveling abroad rose by 215.5 million euros, or 13.0%, to 1,867.6 million euros. The rise in visitor spending was driven by a 15.4% increase in the number of foreign arrivals, even as the average amount spent per trip fell by 0.6%.

Visitors from the rest of the European Union spent 10.7% more, a total of 4,526.4 million euros, while visitors from outside the EU spent 19.7% more, a total of 3,859.9 million euros. Within the EU total, spending by visitors from eurozone countries climbed 13.3% to 3,777.8 million euros, while spending by visitors from EU countries that do not use the euro fell 1.1% to 748.5 million euros.

German visitors spent 6.3% less, at 1,275.9 million euros, and French visitors cut their spending by 7.4%, to 414.3 million euros. Italy bucked the trend, with visitor spending up 31.1% to 470.0 million euros. Outside the EU, the UK and the US both spent more: 1,179.2 million euros, an 8.5% rise, and 796.9 million euros, up 10.8%, respectively.

For June alone, provisional data show the country’s tourism surplus stood at 3,116.3 million euros, slightly below the 3,127.0 million euros recorded in June 2025. Visitor spending for the month rose 1.2% to 3,476.5 million euros, up from 3,434.6 million euros a year earlier, while spending by Greek residents traveling abroad rose 17.1% to 360.2 million euros, up from 307.5 million euros. The rise in visitor spending came from a 6.9% increase in foreign arrivals, even as average spending per trip dropped 6.2%.

Within June’s figures, spending by EU visitors rose 1.5% to 1,850.2 million euros, while spending by visitors from outside the EU fell 1.2% to 1,439.9 million euros, down from 1,456.8 million euros in June 2025.