According to provisional data, average expenditure per visitor rose by 9.1% over the January–July period, highlighting the strength of the country’s tourism industry in a year when both volumes and value improved.
In July alone, one of the busiest months of the year, the travel balance showed a surplus of €4.18 billion, compared with €3.66 billion in July 2024. Travel receipts surged by 15% to €4.52 billion, while payments abroad by Greek residents also rose, but from a much lower base, increasing 26% to €344 million.
The robust inflows were fueled by a 6.4% rise in inbound travel, combined with a 7.2% increase in average spending per trip. Net revenues from tourism were strong enough to more than offset the country’s goods trade deficit, underlining the sector’s pivotal role in Greece’s external accounts.
Between January and July, receipts climbed 12.5% year-on-year to €12.18 billion. The increase was broadly based, with both the number of arrivals—up 2.6%—and spending per trip contributing to the growth. Net travel inflows covered more than half of the national goods trade deficit and accounted for almost 86% of Greece’s total net service receipts in the period.
European Union markets provided the biggest boost.
In July, revenues from EU residents rose 23% to €2.65 billion, with the eurozone alone contributing nearly €2 billion. German tourists were the largest spenders, with revenues from Germany up 23.6% to €664 million. French visitors also stood out, spending 43% more than a year earlier at €313 million, while receipts from Italy were broadly stable at €288 million. In contrast, revenues from the United Kingdom fell sharply by 18% to €550 million, though inflows from the United States rose by 15% to €250 million. Russian spending, while still marginal, also increased.
Looking at the seven-month picture, German travelers again led the way with €2 billion in spending, up 16.6% compared with the same period of 2024. Receipts from France climbed 15.6% to €769 million, while Italy generated €633 million, an increase of nearly 5%. American visitors were another bright spot, with spending up more than 25% to €954 million. By contrast, revenues from the UK dipped 2.9% to €1.63 billion.
The rise in receipts was supported by a steady flow of visitors. In July, Greece welcomed 6.76 million travelers, up 6.4% from a year earlier. Air arrivals increased by 4.3%, while road arrivals surged 12%. Germany again led the growth, with visitor numbers up nearly 15% to 963,000, while France recorded a decline of almost 7% and Italy remained broadly unchanged. Arrivals from the UK fell by 13%, while those from the United States were essentially flat.
From January to July, the total number of foreign visitors rose to 18.45 million, a 2.6% increase compared with 2024. Air arrivals grew by almost 5%, offsetting a small decline in land border crossings. While the overall number of EU visitors dipped slightly, non-EU markets grew strongly, with arrivals from the United States jumping 14.6% to nearly 904,000 and the UK edging up 1.5% to 2.3 million. Germany also showed solid growth, with 2.8 million travelers recorded in the period.
