The country welcomed 8.57 million international travelers between January and May, up 20.9% from 7.09 million in the same period a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Greece, the country’s central bank. Travel receipts rose even faster, increasing 25.8% to €5.32 billion, equivalent to about $6.2 billion, as visitors not only arrived in greater numbers but also spent more. Average expenditure per trip increased 4.5%.
The figures point to another potentially strong year for an industry that is unusually important to Greece, where spending by foreign visitors provides jobs, supports businesses ranging from hotels and restaurants to transportation companies, and brings in foreign currency that helps offset the country’s persistent deficit in trade in goods.
Greece recorded a €3.81 billion travel surplus in the January-to-May period, up from €2.89 billion a year earlier. Travel receipts increased by €1.09 billion, while spending by Greek residents traveling abroad rose a more modest 12.1% to €1.51 billion. Net travel receipts covered 30.9% of the country’s goods-trade deficit and accounted for 83.7% of net receipts from services, underscoring tourism’s significance to Greece’s external accounts.
The expansion was broad-based. Arrivals from European Union countries rose 24.1% in the first five months of the year to 4.73 million, while arrivals from countries outside the bloc increased 17.1% to 3.84 million. Germany remained a major source of visitors, with arrivals up 13.6% to 1.23 million. French arrivals increased 13.7% to about 389,000, while Italian arrivals climbed 14.2% to roughly 356,000.
The U.K. market was particularly strong. Nearly 966,000 British travelers visited Greece during the period, an increase of 35.9%, while receipts from U.K. visitors jumped 50.9% to €736.3 million. Revenue from American travelers rose 19.4% to €539 million even though the number of U.S. visitors declined 2% to about 454,000, suggesting substantially higher spending per American visitor.
Growth also came increasingly through Greece’s land borders. International arrivals through airports rose 9.5% in the five-month period, while traffic through road-border crossings surged 64.5%, highlighting the importance of travelers arriving from Greece’s Balkan neighbors and the broader European region.
May alone offered a preview of the peak summer season. Greece received 3.33 million international visitors during the month, 12.2% more than a year earlier. Travel receipts rose 10.9% to €2.43 billion, although average spending per trip declined 1.4%. The monthly travel surplus widened to €2.02 billion from €1.84 billion in May 2025.
Spending patterns also showed the growing importance of visitors from outside the European Union. May receipts from EU residents were virtually unchanged from a year earlier at €1.28 billion, while revenue from travelers from other countries jumped 27.9% to €1.02 billion. Receipts from U.S. visitors surged 55.1% during the month to €188.2 million, while spending by British visitors increased 23% to €402.6 million.
