Hotels on the large island of Crete are increasingly relying on last-minute bookings and price discounts to maintain occupancy during the peak summer season, raising concerns that tourism revenues will fall short of expectations despite another year of strong visitor arrivals.
Manolis Tsakalakis, a former president of the Rethymno Hoteliers Association, said many hotels have been forced to reduce room rates to sustain occupancy as bookings continue to come in at the last minute.
He estimated hotel occupancy in the Rethymno area will reach about 85% in July after averaging around 80% in June, when overnight stays declined by 3% compared with the same month last year. He added that several luxury hotels, particularly in Rethymno, have reported lower occupancy than anticipated.
Tsakalakis attributed the weaker spending to continued economic pressures on European households, which he said are affecting both travel bookings and tourists’ overall expenditure.
Data from the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation (INSETE) nevertheless showed continued growth in passenger traffic. During the first five months of 2026, Crete welcomed 1.71 million air passengers on domestic and international flights, maintaining its position as Greece’s leading regional tourism destination.
International arrivals reached 1.15 million, up 13.8% from the same period a year earlier. Heraklion Airport handled 825,563 international passengers, an increase of 11.3%, while Chania Airport recorded 328,006 international arrivals, up 20.9%, among the strongest growth rates nationwide.
Domestic traffic also increased, with 552,753 passengers arriving during the January-May period, a rise of 3.1% year-on-year.
However, a recent INSETE study indicated that higher visitor numbers have not translated into stronger tourism receipts. Although Crete remained the top destination for German visitors in 2025, welcoming 1.69 million travelers, tourism revenue from Germany fell 9% to 1.176 billion euros from 1.286 billion euros in 2024. German visitors spent an average of 694 euros per trip and 89 euros per overnight stay, with an average stay of 7.8 nights.
The figures reinforce signs that demand for Greece remains resilient while travelers are becoming more “price-sensitive”. Over the past six months, local media has reported that Greek tourism continues to post record or near-record arrival levels, but growth has increasingly been driven by aggressive pricing, last-minute bookings and competition among destinations.
Reports have also highlighted mounting pressure on hotel profitability as operating costs rise and average visitor spending softens, prompting greater emphasis on attracting higher-value travelers and extending the tourism season beyond the summer peak.
