Towards a new historic high, with a total number of foreign visitors expected to exceed 7.5 million, Athens’ tourism is heading for a new historic high this year, which is now further establishing itself as a destination for European tourists and for shorter weekend getaways.

The UK, Germany, Cyprus and Italy are in the top 5 nationalities from Europe in terms of visitor numbers to the city this year, where however the top spot is firmly held by Americans, with the airport, precisely because of high passenger traffic, revising upwards its forecasts for 2024.

On the other hand, the capital, which received 7.1 million foreign visitor arrivals last year, will have to improve its basic infrastructure: cleanliness, pavements, squares and greenery are the areas rated lowest by visitors (ed: and much more so by residents).

‘In addition to the prioritisation that needs to be set at the level of destination planning and management to avoid challenges similar to those faced by Barcelona, where residents are increasingly expressing concerns about the negative impact of tourism on the city’, as stated by the well-known analysis company GBR consulting, a key partner of the Athens – Attica & Argosaronikos Hoteliers Association.

Airbnb high record

The… momentum that Athens has gained this year is reflected from the airport data to the number of beds that are increasing in Attica, especially in the short-term rental segment, since the increase in hotels is measured.

For short-term rentals, based on data collected by the Institute of the Hellenic Tourism Business Association from Lighthouse with data from listings on Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo and Tripadvisor, the total number of accommodation available through the major platforms at the end of March in Attica was 28,236.

This is the highest number ever, considering that in the corresponding period in 2023 it was 24,085 and in 2019 21,467. In terms of beds, the corresponding number this year exceeds 115.5 thousand from 100.5 thousand last year and 93.5 thousand, before the pandemic, in 2019.

The numbers of rentals are now much higher than the numbers of hotels, which, despite the apparent increase, have more limited growth as shown in the numbers: indicatively, within the boundaries of the Municipality of Athens, which is the most audible in terms of new hotel arrivals, there are 295 hotel units operating based on the latest data of April, corresponding to 18. 198 rooms and 34,790 hotel beds, when a decade ago, in 2013, the corresponding figure was 227 units with 27,569 hotel beds.
For this year, and from the perspective of EXAA, it is estimated that this ‘tends to develop well’, having closed the first (traditionally weak) quarter with an increased average occupancy rate of 63.5%.

The airport

Another positive sign comes from the country’s largest airport, which has revised its 2024 passenger traffic forecast: following the strong performance in traffic in the first quarter and updated forecasts for the rest of the year, Athens International Airport has revised its forecast to an annual passenger traffic (domestic – international) of 29.9 million passengers in 2024, 6.3% (or approximately an additional 1.8 million passengers) above 2023 levels.

From the data of the airport, which is the main entry point for foreign visitors, the figures so far for the first (weaker, due to seasonality) months point to double-digit arrivals from abroad, confirming the trend towards lengthening in the regional months. Thus, for the first quarter of 2024, airport traffic reached 7.7 million passengers, an increase of 16.5%.
Passenger traffic, both domestic and international, increased by 8.4% and 20.2% respectively, with international traffic accounting for 5.44 million passengers, while for the month of April alone, passenger traffic reached 2.49 million, up 16.3% compared to April 2023 levels.

Plus 51 destinations

May marks the start due to the launch of the airlines’ summer schedules for additional frequencies and connections at the country’s largest airport, where already in April there were 51 new additions from 15 airlines.

Among the destinations added or enhanced since April are: Shanghai, Seoul, Seoul, Washington DC, Boston, Montreal, Montreal, Toronto, New York as well as Warsaw, Bordeaux, Bari, Venice, Strasbourg, etc. from Aegean, Aer Lingus, Air Canada, American Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Delta, easyJet, Juneyao, LOT, Norwegian, Ryanair, Transavia, United, Volotea.

May marks the increase in frequencies from Air Canada to Toronto and Montreal, the addition of United’s new Chicago destination from the last week of the month, as well as the brand new addition of Norse Atlantic to New York, traffic that complements existing connections from American, Delta, United and Emirates.

Among the new, European destinations in May are easyJet’s connection to Nice and SmartWings’ connection to Prague, which is also one of the new airlines for Athens Airport in 2024, complementing existing AEGEAN and Eurowings connections on that route.

Sarajevo and Palermo for AEGEAN, Ancona and Split for Volotea, Palma and Malaga for easyJet are the new European destinations that these airlines are adding to their schedules in June. In the same month, Air Arabia is also launching its first service to Sharjah, the third most populous city in the UAE, boosting the capital’s connectivity with the UAE, where it is now served by five airlines to three destinations.
AEGEAN

The interest in further ‘opening’ to the Arab markets is a given and in this context last week there were contacts at the Arabian Travel Market exhibition in Dubai, where a delegation from the Greek National Tourism Organisation and Secretary General Dimitris Fragakis were present. In the context of the Dubai Tourism Fair, AEGEAN and Saudia, the Saudi Arabian airline, announced a new partnership for codeshare flights to and from Athens, Jeddah and Riyadh.

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Athens in the top 10

Demand is also high for travel from across the Atlantic, with Athens making the top 10 best European destinations for Americans. Delta Airlines ranks the city 4th among the top 10 destinations with the most searches for summer 2024 (led by London, Paris and Rome), having recorded the largest increase, 248% of all destinations, compared to last year, in terms of interest for summer holidays.

Similarly, Google searches for the most popular destinations for Americans, with Athens coming in 10th place. The figures are based on the cities for which there have been the most searches from the US on Google Flights for travel between 1 June and 31 August, with London, Paris and Tokyo rounding out the top three, followed by Rome.

Allianz Partners also places the Greek capital in the top 10 European destinations for Americans for their summer holidays, in 9th place. The well-known Allianz-affiliated travel insurance provider further finds that the number of Americans traveling to Europe this year will increase by 34% over last year, with London and Paris leading the way.