Despite inflation and geopolitical tensions, global tourism demand remained steady throughout the year. A slight slowdown was recorded toward the end of the year, with arrivals rising by 3% in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to 4% in the third quarter, which corresponds to the Northern Hemisphere’s summer season.
According to 2025 tourism data recorded in the annual report of INSETE (the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation), international tourist arrivals worldwide reached 1.52 billion in 2025, marking a 4% increase, or nearly 60 million more visitors compared to both 2024 and 2019.
Europe remains the world’s top destination
Europe was the leading global tourism destination, welcoming 793 million international tourists (up 4% compared to 2024 and 6% compared to 2019, the pre-pandemic period).
The Americas remained at 2024 levels in 2025 and recorded a 1% decrease compared to 2019. Africa saw a 9% increase compared to 2024 and 17% compared to 2019, while the Middle East grew by 4%, exceeding pre-pandemic levels by 39%. Asia and the Pacific recorded a 6% increase; however, arrivals remained 9% below 2019 levels.
International tourist arrivals in 2025 were distributed by global region, with Europe holding the largest share at 52%, followed by Asia and the Pacific with 22% and the Americas with 14%. The Middle East and Africa accounted for 7% and 5% respectively, highlighting Europe’s dominant position as the world’s leading tourism destination.
Strong momentum for Greek tourism
Within this context, Greek tourism followed a particularly dynamic path, with international tourist arrivals (excluding cruise passengers) reaching 37.9 million in 2025, up 5.6% compared to 2024.
At the same time, travel receipts (excluding cruise) increased by 9.7% to €22.5 billion. Cruise revenues rose by 3.9% to €1.1 billion. Overall revenue, including cruise, increased by 9.4% to €23.6 billion.
Air arrivals on the rise
In 2025, 27.6 million international air arrivals were recorded, an increase of 6.1% compared to 2024. Strong performance was seen throughout the year, with a particularly impressive fourth quarter (10.1%).
Airports in Athens and Thessaloniki stood out, recording increases of 10.1% and 10.4% respectively, while declines were noted in Santorini (13.6%) and Karpathos (7.9%).
Athens accounted for 31.6% of international air arrivals, followed by Heraklion (14.7%) and Rhodes (11.1%).
Strong cruise year – declines in Santorini and Mykonos
Passenger traffic from the Adriatic decreased by 4.9% in 2025 (1.21 million passengers).
By contrast, the cruise sector recorded a particularly strong year, with 8.4 million passenger arrivals (up 6%) and 6,129 ship arrivals (up 12%).
Significant increases were recorded in Chania (43% in passengers), Lavrio (73%), and Katakolo (18%), while declines were observed in Santorini (11%) and Mykonos (5%).
Rising arrivals in Crete
Domestic air arrivals reached 9.9 million (up 2.4%), with significant growth in Crete (9.8%), the Ionian Islands (7.2%), and the Dodecanese (5.8%), while declines were recorded in the Cyclades (12.8%), mainly due to Santorini (18.3%) and Mykonos (9.6%).
Inbound travel traffic reached 37.981 million travelers (excluding cruise), an increase of 5.6% compared to 2024.
Travel receipts (including cruise) amounted to €23.626 billion, marking a 9.4% increase, with strong growth driven by countries outside the European Union (14.7%) and the United Kingdom (18.5%).
Average spending per visitor increased by 4.8% to €595, compared to €573 in 2024.
Growth in short-term rentals
Total arrivals at tourist accommodations reached 37.8 million (up 2.0%), including domestic travelers (2.1%) and international visitors (1.9%).
Total overnight stays reached 156.2 million (up 2%). August remained the peak month, with 7.2 million arrivals and 33.9 million overnight stays.
The number of short-term rental properties (January–November 2025) showed continuous growth, reaching a new historic high in August with 247,000 properties and 1.081 million beds. The threshold of 1 million beds remained consistently exceeded from April through October.
The average length of stay reached up to 4.2 nights in August. The dominance of international travelers was striking, reaching 94% in September—a record high for the 2019–2025 period.
Culture, food, and the sea drive satisfaction
The General Satisfaction Index (GRI) of hotels, which measures overall customer satisfaction, stood at 87.3% in 2025, compared to 86.9% in 2024. Positive reviews (574,300 / 66%) outweighed negative ones (293,522 / 34%), with food, facilities, and staff leading among positive categories, while room quality and noise were the most cited negatives. A total of 77% of reviews came from couples (45%) and families (32%).
The Net Promoter Score reached 54 (+3 points compared to 2024), with top performances in the Cyclades (71) and Epirus (70).
In terms of overall experience in dining, entertainment, and attractions, visitors rated Greece 9.1 out of 10 in 2025, reflecting very high satisfaction throughout the year. Culture received the highest score (9.2), followed by food and drink (9.1) and the sea experience (9).
Hospitality and the high level of service provided by tourism workers also received very positive feedback in online written reviews.
