The picture for the “Greek summer” in 2026, at least in the paper plans, points to further growth with an increase in available airline seats for booking to 30.82 million seats for the entire March-October 2026 season, with an increase of 9.2% compared to the same period last year. In fact, the rise at the end of the season is impressive considering that for October alone, available airline seats are up 21% this year compared to last year’s very good October, when a significant lengthening of the tourist season was recorded. Another early indicator should be added to the data so far: Greece is “placed” among the 8 European countries with the most new international connections for the summer season, in the number 8 position in Europe, another indication of the positive trend that airlines are predicting for the Greek summer.

Ultimately, however, on the other hand, the course of Greek tourism, at this particular stage, is linked to the developments in the Middle East and the implications, whether these relate to demand itself or the purely operational level in the aviation sector and the increase in the price of aviation fuel, with all that this implies in terms of possible route cuts or additional costs in ticket prices for the end consumer. On the demand front, even though the window of opportunity for an end to the war opened in the early hours of Good Wednesday morning with a 15-day ceasefire as a first step, there remains uncertainty in travel and the fragile psychology of travellers, in addition, of course, to the impact on the incomes of Europeans – who are the main source of inbound tourism for the country – and whether they will ultimately choose destinations closer to their place of residence for the summer, as was the case during the pandemic.

These, as the Bank of Greece also estimates, are three of the key factors linked to developments in the Middle East and will play a decisive role in the performance of Greek tourism this year, for which, otherwise, the first estimate remains positive.