Arrivals of French tourists in Greece have reached double-digit numbers for 2017, according to the Greek Tourism Ministry.

Based on the official data presented by the Greek Minister for Tourism, Elena Kountoura, during meetings with the travel industry’s executives at the IFTM-TopResa International Tourism Fair in Paris, 2017 will close with a 15% increase in arrivals compared to 2016. For the first time the number of French tourists in Greece will reach 2 million, while a 10% rise is also expected An increase of 10% has already been recorded in bookings for 2018.

Following targeted moves and deals over the past two years, Greece became the third most popular tourist destination for the French, up two spots. As the tourism ministry said in a statement, representatives of the top tour operators, including TUI France, Thomas Cook, and Karavel, Greece had transformed into a very dynamic tourism market for the French.

Adding to the positive news was the fact that the French air carriers said that 2016 was an excellent year, following the agreement at last year’s TOPRESA report for the expansion of the tourist season. The companies had fulfilled their commitments and connectivity was being reinforced for 2018 with more flights.