International air arrivals to our country are running at a double-digit growth rate of close to 12%, with the mid-summer numbers highlighting the champions so far this season. Of the major destinations, Athens, Rhodes in the South Aegean Region and Crete appear to be the big winners so far in absolute numbers of arrivals, at the same time that across Greece, business people in tourist destinations, restaurants and retail are finding that consumption and per capita spending are more limited in local markets this year as the pressure on incomes due to price pressures is not just a Greek phenomenon.

The truth of the matter is confirmed by international surveys, such as the recent one by the European Travel Commission (ETC), according to which visitors to European tourist destinations this year will spend significantly more, 800.5 billion euros estimated, up 13.7% compared to 2023, which is mainly due to increases in business costs and operating expenses, resulting in a corresponding rise in ticket and accommodation prices.

The airlines

“There are indeed more arrivals in the destinations, however, from contacts with colleagues throughout Greece we see generally limited consumption in restaurants because objectively the disposable income is reduced either for Greek visitors or foreigners,” Mr. Giorgos Kavvathas, president of the Panhellenic Federation of Restaurant & Related Professions (Posepe).

“Especially for catering in tourist destinations, we see that it is affected by the additional parameter of short-term rentals, since those who stay in houses consume fewer meals out.” A similar finding is also found in retail outlets in tourist areas.

“We have a lot of arrivals, we count substantially more tourists, but we do not count correspondingly more euros,” says for his part the vice president of the Athens Professional Chamber Nikos Koyoumtsis, “We find that compared to the recent past the per capita expenditure has been limited, as the crisis has touched the foreign tourist – and the money he spends beyond travel, accommodation and food is clearly more limited.”

It should be noted here that this June ended with an average price of 142 euros for a double room, up 18% compared to 120 euros in June 2023, according to data collected from hoteliers across Greece by the Institute of Tourism Research and Forecasting (ITEP), which collaborates with the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels.

Increased operating costs and increased supply costs, demand, combined with the gradual upgrading, year by year, of part of the hotel stock so that it is now addressed to travelers with higher income criteria are among the parameters that bring increases in room prices.

Overall this year in the battle for a share of the European tourism pie, Greece continues to perform well compared to its competing tourism markets. Based on data compiled by the Institute of the Hellenic Tourism Businesses Association (INSETE), this summer, our country is above the average in terms of the percentage increase in available seats from airlines compared to last year, in a total of nine major Mediterranean tourist markets, along with Spain, Italy, France, Turkey, Portugal, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta.

Specifically, for the nine Mediterranean tourist markets, the total number of seats available for the summer season from March to October 2024 scheduled by airlines reaches 310 million (up from 309.66 million), an increase of 6.9% compared to the 2023 summer season.

Greece, with a total of 27.14 million airline seats available up to October, is in 5th place (after Spain, Italy, France and Turkey), an increase of 8.2% compared to last year’s season.

In terms of the numbers so far, total domestic – international passenger traffic for the first half of 2024 at the 39 airports across Greece (24 of the Civil Aviation Authority, 14 of Fraport Greece and Athens International Airport) was up 11.4%, with 30.6 million passengers compared to 27.46 million in the corresponding period January – June 2023.

In terms of international arrivals in particular, the big difference this year is Athens, which, based on data from the country’s largest airport up to the end of the first half of the year, has seen an increase in international arrivals of almost 14%. Last year, international arrivals of international residents amounted to 3.062 million, while this year for the period January – June the corresponding figure is a breath away from 3.5 million – specifically, 3.488 million. Based on the figures from Eleftherios Venizelos, Americans emerge as the top nationality, with international arrivals this year in the first half of the year topping 451,000 from almost 424,000 in the first half of 2023.

The UK follows with almost 322,000 arrivals, up 8% year-on-year, while Germany has made the big difference this year with a very large increase (up 48%) and over 296,000 arrivals from 200,000 in the first half of 2023. France with 186,028 arrivals (+4%) and Cyprus with an impressive +64%, also at 186,028 arrivals, complete the top 5. Down 17% this year are arrivals from Israelis, just below the 108,000 arrivals this year in the first half, while two other nationalities in decline are Belgians (-14%) and Romanians (-18%).

Overall, the total passenger traffic for the first half of this year amounted to 14.01 million passengers at Athens International Airport, up 16% compared to the same period last year, with both domestic (4.15 million) and international (9.86 million) passenger traffic increasing by 8.6% and 19.5% respectively.

The city’s tourism operators believe there is further potential: “Athens is on an upward trajectory and is expected to set a record in arrivals and overnight stays this year due to increased air connections to international destinations and the city’s evolution now as a multi-dimensional tourist destination.” Zeus International Hotels & Resorts, which manages a number of hotels around Greece (Crete, Halkidiki, Kos, Thessaloniki and Evia), and of course in Athens, in the heart of the capital, but also more peripherally in Attica, in Nea Makri and Vravrona.

Having had the Wyndham Grand Athens under its umbrella in recent years, in a more challenging area of the city such as Karaiskaki Square, Zeus has bet early on and has indeed experienced in recent years the rise of the city as a tourist destination, with Mr Siganos noting that “there is indeed further great potential for development in the city’s tourist traffic”. But for this to happen, it is important to further develop and strengthen its infrastructure, to enhance the visitor’s sense of security, to create new tourist areas around the city and not just focusing on the well-known archaeological monuments and so on

The firsts in the Aegean

Outside Athens, in the champion South Aegean Region, this season has started with a significant first for Rhodes in terms of international arrivals, with a 12% increase compared to last year, with regional governor George Hatzimarkos stating that “tourist traffic in our islands is at high levels and the economy of the islands is working”. It should be noted that the South Aegean Region accounts for 22% of units, 26% of rooms and 27% of beds in the country, with a total of 2,241 units with 115,210 rooms and 232,862 beds.

Based on data from Fraport Greece, which operates 14 regional airports, direct international arrivals at the four international airports of the South Aegean Region, namely Rhodes, Kos, Mykonos and Santorini, have reached 1.833 million since the start of this summer season in April, compared to 1.708 million in 2023, an increase of more than 7%.

Rhodes in particular had the biggest increase in international arrivals – of 12% – reaching 1.027 million from 920,000 last year. At Kos airport, direct international arrivals since the start of the summer season are up 6% at the end of June, reaching 437,000 from 412,000 in the same period last year.

Of particular interest are the figures for the country’s two premium destinations, Santorini and Mykonos, which have been in the spotlight over the past two years. The Windward Island in particular has been under the greatest pressure in terms of its tourist traffic over the last two years. Since the start of the season in April, international direct arrivals to Santorini have remained at the same level as last year, at 232,000, while Mykonos is down 5%, with international direct arrivals at 136,500 by the end of June, down from 143,000 in the same period last year.

From 136,000 to 136,000 in the same period last year, down from 136,000 in the previous year.

It should be noted here that in total for the first half of 2024 at the 14 regional airports passenger traffic stood at 12.7 million, of which 9.26 million was international traffic, an increase of 7.8% in both figures. Mykonos had a marginal drop of 0.4% in total passenger traffic in the first half of the year with 469,000, Santorini had an increase of 5.4% with 1.03 million passengers in domestic – international traffic and Rhodes had the second largest increase (by 11.9%) of all 14 regional airports, with total traffic for the six-month period at 2.38 million passengers.

Crete is also performing well, with Chania airport recording an 8.3% increase in total passenger traffic in the first half of the year, exceeding 1.4 million passengers, of which 994,000 were international.

And Heraklion airport, based on air traffic statistics so far, looks set to surpass last year’s historic record passenger traffic – which is why the infrastructure there has long since exceeded its limits. That’s why the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) went on record a few days ago to claim that it is “making every effort to ensure that the old and over-saturated infrastructure, which has far exceeded its fatigue limits, is maintained and continuously modernised until the new airport at Kastelli opens in February 2027”.

By the end of June, Heraklion State Airport’s average passenger traffic growth was about 11%, and the estimate is that it will exceed 9.2 million passengers by the end of the year, up from 8.7 million in 2023, cementing the airport as the second largest airport in the country in terms of passenger traffic.