“This year the season will be decided month by month”. “The positive thing is that the intention to travel among Europeans remains and is a given, while airlines have also forecast increased seats for Greek destinations in the summer season at +8% from last year.” “Since the beginning of the geopolitical crisis in Iran, there has been a freeze on bookings for some periods, but the flow is now improved.” “There has been no mass cancellations at any point, apart from some isolated, scattered bookings that have been cancelled.” “Any ups and downs and volatility in bookings will be dealt with by the market with last minute offers.”

This is the mood at the moment for the Greek tourism which, now in early June, is well into the new summer season, with expectations being mixed in destinations around Greece, and the market, at this stage, wanting to see the glass half full for the “Greek summer 2026”, and, gradually, bookings returning. On the plus side, the season has started early in some destinations, as has happened for example in Crete and Chania with more flights very early this year, as seen by the significant increase in international traffic at the airport even in April by 26.4% over last April. From the airlines comes another positive news, that international inbound seats on offer for the entire summer season up to October are at a highly encouraging +8% this year compared to 2025, with a total reaching 30.79 million seats on offer – even if the rate of scheduling growth now (as of 25/5) appears slightly down compared to the first month of the geopolitical crisis when it was at +9.2%.

.

On the other hand, the uncertainty due to geopolitical developments in the Middle East remains intense, with a greater impact on the pockets of travellers, mainly Europeans, who are the major reservoir of inbound tourism for our country. This is now the parameter that worries the market the most, given that, at least on the airline front, the previous fears of fuel shortages have been abandoned and the concern is now turning to the demand side. In this context, it is no coincidence that there are ongoing attempts to “inject” the market through promotions and … lightning discounts, as Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-cost airline, advertised last week for getaways in June.

Similarly, it is no coincidence that TUI, Europe’s largest travel agency, with a large share in the country, as it handles more than 3 million travelers annually, has moved to assure travelers, through its CEO Sebastian Ebel, that the company is well prepared for the summer travel season, with a steady supply of aircraft fuel already secured: “We do not expect any disruptions and our operations will continue as planned. Most importantly, we remain true to our commitment to our customers: the price at which reservations have been made is the final price they will pay – with no surprises and no retroactive increases.”

The hoteliers

On the hotelier front across Greece, the signals at this stage point to cautious optimism. Market players continue to focus on the importance of last minute bookings, given that there is still volatility in bookings with a greater lag at present especially in the high peak season of July-August. It is precisely this climate that is reflected in the country’s top destination, Crete, where the season is now in full swing with the island performing well, confirming its strong brand. “We have good occupancy rates at 80%- 85%,” says the president of the Heraklion Hotel Association Nikos Halkiadakis. “We see a relative lag for the peak period, which is still behind, close to 10%, compared to what we would have had under normal circumstances, that is, if there was no geopolitical instability and economic uncertainty factor. The flow of new bookings has been quite up and down, however we believe that as the summer progresses this will be restored.”

The same climate is described by Spyros Rokas, president of the Corfu Hoteliers Association, where the season is also getting an early start, thanks to Easter: “We see days where the flow of bookings is good and others where there is a relative numbness, which just confirms that stability has not been restored. In a more general context, the performance on the island so far, depending on the market, is a little up or a little down compared to last year. What is more worrying, as we see the situation taking shape at the moment, and given that the intention to travel and holiday remains, is how much travellers will ultimately spend in the destinations. In addition, this year, last-minute bookings are playing an important role, and one factor that should be taken into account is that these are directly linked to the issue of rising fuel prices, and therefore more expensive travel, as the season progresses for the portion of the public that has not booked their holidays.”

Road tourism

The new season has started with a decline for Halkidiki, which also attracts a significant number of road travellers, mainly from the surrounding Balkan markets: “May is closing with an average occupancy rate of 60% this year, down from 70% last year. We are entering the first month of summer and we now expect an increase in road arrivals, especially from June 10 onwards when schools close, expecting an average occupancy for next month close to 75% from 85% in the same period last year,” says Grigoris Tasios, president of the Halkidiki Hoteliers Association.

“There is a shortfall of around 10% and we believe it has to do with the general economic insecurity, while May in particular was also affected by the weather conditions that did not favour the three-day trips from the Balkans. And because, as they say in tourism, a month that passes does not come back, now June will be decisive both for the start of the summer and for the flow of bookings in the next period, until the autumn. We have great faith in last minute bookings, because there remains – as has been consistently the case in recent years – a general intention and strong desire for travel among the public, who will seek and look for offers this year even a few days before their holidays. Moreover, for this summer, I estimate that it will also be the year of the so-called “mass model” because it ensures the traveler prepaid expenses and that is why foreign tour operators expect that there will be a spring in demand as soon as geopolitical conditions improve.”

Tasios also focuses on home tourism from the Balkans, where one notable difference compared to other years is that Bulgarians, due to the transition to the euro, are more relaxed in their daily lives and spend less.

It should be noted that in Northern Greece, complaints from tourist operators have intensified in recent days – especially as tourist traffic increases and starting from the weekends – about the long queues that form at the road borders due to the necessary checks, given that Greece is the EU country with the greatest interconnectivity with non-Schengen countries. In fact, Andreas Mandrinos, president of the Thessaloniki Hoteliers Association, called it a “third world situation”, asking for the immediate opening of the closed outposts that already exist, to increase staff and technological equipment for the implementation of the new European Directive and to separate the Schengen areas from the rest, in order to improve the control procedures in every way. A proposal submitted by the tourism operators of Northern Greece is to immediately suspend the biometric controls of the new European Entry/Exit System, known as EES, during peak days and hours until October.

What tourist offices see

On the travel agency front, the picture they are currently receiving in terms of inbound tourism from abroad is mixed, depending on nationality and market. Based on data recorded by members of the Federation of Greek Associations of Travel & Tourism Agencies (FedHATTA) from all over Greece, some agencies are recording a drop of about 7% compared to the previous period and estimate a 13% to 16% decline for the summer, while others are seeing a positive trend, with several pre-bookings mainly from England, Germany, France and the US.

The destinations that are attracting the most interest include Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, Corfu, Cyclades, Ionian Islands, Athens, Thessaloniki and Halkidiki, while the final picture of the season is expected to depend largely on the course of last-minute bookings.

For Greek travellers, the summer season of 2026, based on the data so far, seems to be moving with a decline of 14% to 18% compared to 2025, especially in international travel, and it remains to be seen how and where the domestic audience will travel, which anyway, traditionally, has the profile of last-minute travellers. Domestically, in individual travel, the picture remains largely stagnant, as in organised groups. Travellers are looking for closer destinations with the Peloponnese, Halkidiki, the Ionian Sea, Crete, Rhodes, Preveza, Athens, Thessaloniki, Santorini, Karpathos and Lemnos attracting significant interest.

In outbound travel, the picture is more pressured, with the market showing a decline that in many cases is down around 20% compared to last year – probably due to the psychology of potential travellers in relation to all the talk of more expensive travel due to the rise in jet fuel prices. Despite the general slowdown, always according to FedHATTA data, European cities still have momentum, especially when offered through economy packages. Travelers’ favorites are Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, Scotland, the Dalmatian coast, Scandinavia, the Baltic countries and the Balkans.

The Airbnb picture

Interestingly, data from short-term rentals, which now account for a significant proportion of the tourism product, over 10%, with reported income last year, based on data from the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), reaching €1 billion. Even though official data for April point to a 7% year-on-year drop in demand in the Greek market, the well-known short-term rental data analytics firm AirDNA is seeing strong demand momentum in Greek destinations for the summer (June-August).

As it is shown for summer season bookings in particular, demand for the summer season in Greece, in Airbnb type accommodation, is already 9.3% higher than last year, with 3.9 million overnight stays. July (+13.5%) and August (+11.4%) are recording the biggest boost, while September (+12.4%) is also showing strong momentum, confirming, according to the company, the further lengthening of the tourist season.

It is noteworthy that the growth in summer demand in Greece exceeds the European average of 8.2%, while the country also displays the highest seasonal price premium in Europe, at 55%, offering significant room for price increases during the peak of the season. The price increase for the summer period (the average for the three-month period from June to August) is 174 euros, when the average for the other nine months, excluding the “hot” summer, is 113 euros.

Metallica, Iron Maiden and Final Four lifted Athens

AirDNA has also measured the -positive- impact specifically for Athens in May from the big events of the month, the concerts (Metallica, Iron Maiden) and of course the Final Four of the Euroleague. From the short-term rental data for the Greek capital, it seems that it was precisely these events that acted as a tonic. For May in particular, in terms of accommodation supply, this is moving lower in the capital compared to last year. In fact, as the company notes, there was no noticeable increase in supply either during the Metallica concert, which was the big concert event, or during the EuroLeague Final Four.

At the same time, demand in short-term rentals for May 2026 appears to be down 2% overall compared to the previous year in the capital, with the exception of the periods around the two major events. In particular, demand for the night of the Metallica concert and the day before (8-9 May) increased by 8%. Similarly, for the period 21-24 May, when the EuroLeague Final Four took place, demand increased by 6% compared to last year, with the biggest increase recorded on 22 and 23 May, when demand was 8% higher. However, overall demand on 22-23 May was still 6% lower than the demand recorded on 8-9 May for the Metallica concert.

In terms of prices, the average daily revenue per available room for last month in Athens was 105 euros, up 7% year-on-year. For the days of the Metallica concert, the corresponding figure reached 112 euros, an increase of 10%, while the 11% rise in prices was even greater during the EuroLeague Final Four, close to 120 euros. Similarly, on the front of hoteliers, the rates of bookings already before the major events of May had improved, returning to more normal rhythms . The positive side includes the fact that June is coming … with momentum thanks to the top maritime event, Posidonia 2026.