Receipts rose by 0.5% compared to February 2024, reaching €297.1 million. Over the first two months of 2025, total travel revenues climbed by 3.9% to €599.3 million, supported by a 5.4% increase in visitor arrivals, even as average spending per trip dipped.
The country’s travel surplus narrowed, however, with February’s balance at €90 million—down from €121.3 million a year earlier. This reflected a significant rise in outbound travel payments, which grew nearly 19% year-on-year.
Still, net travel receipts helped offset 3.6% of Greece’s goods trade deficit and accounted for 28.9% of its net services surplus.
Visitor trends were uneven across markets. Revenues from the European Union fell sharply, particularly from the euro area. German travelers spent 22.7% less than last year, and receipts from France dropped by 41.8%.
However, Italy provided a bright spot, with receipts jumping 70.3%. Outside the EU, the United Kingdom and the United States were strong performers. U.S. travel receipts nearly doubled, surging 94% to €47.2 million in February alone, while there were no receipts recorded from Russia.
Inbound tourism volumes declined slightly in February, with a 0.8% year-on-year drop in total arrivals to 715,900. Airport traffic was mostly stable, while land arrivals fell more sharply. Visitor numbers from the EU-27 were down 6.4%, but arrivals from other countries increased by 5.9%.
Travel from France dropped significantly, while German and Italian arrivals rose. Notably, the number of visitors from the United States grew by 46.8% year-on-year.
For the January–February period overall, 1.54 million travelers visited Greece, an increase of 5.4% compared to the same time last year. Most of this growth came through air travel, which rose over 12%, while land border traffic declined.
Among key markets, Germany and Italy saw substantial growth in arrivals, while France continued to lag. The UK posted an impressive 62% increase in visitor numbers, and the U.S. followed with a 13.6% rise.
