Strong rise in non-EU tourists boosts Greece’s travel sector amid drop in EU visitor numbers

Tourist arrivals in Greece in 2025 have shown a new increase in the period January-August. At the same time, spending by tourists also increased in both August and overall during the eight-month period.

According to the Bank of Greece report, travel spending increased by 10.5 per cent in August 2025 and by 12.0 per cent in the period January-August 2025.

Inbound travel increased by 8.1 per cent in August 2025 and by 4.1 per cent in January-August 2025.

Greece's travel balance

According to provisional data from the Bank of Greece, the travel balance in August 2025 showed a surplus of €4.15 billion, compared to a surplus of €3.8 billion in the same month of 2024.

In particular, a 10.5 per cent increase in spending by travellers was recorded in August 2025, which stood at €4.5 billion, compared to €4.09 billion in the corresponding month of 2024.

An increase of 41.4 per cent was also seen in the amount of money Greek travellers spent while abroad: €375.0 million in August 2025 compared to €265.3 million in August 2024.

The increase in spending by tourists in Greece was due to both an 8.1 per cent rise in inbound travel and a 1.7 per cent rise in average expenditure per trip.

From January to August 2025, Greece recorded a travel surplus of €14.3 billion, compared to €13.0 billion during the same period in 2024. This improvement was mainly due to an increase in the amount spent in Greece by foreign visitors, which reached €16.7 billion, up €1.8 billion or 12.0 per cent from the previous year.

The rise in spending was driven by a 4.1 per cent increase in the number of travellers coming to Greece, as well as a 7.2 per cent increase in how much each person spent on average during their stay.

Spending by Greek residents abroad also increased during this period. It reached €2.4 billion, an increase of €500 million or 26 per cent compared to January to August 2024.

Travel spending: Which countries are spending more in Greece?

In August 2025 alone, the amount spent by foreign visitors in Greece rose by 10.5 per cent compared to the same month the year before. Spending by travellers from non-EU countries jumped by 30.5 per cent to €1.86 billion. In contrast, spending by visitors from EU-27 countries fell slightly, decreasing by 2.0 per cent to €2.44 billion, down from €2.49 billion in August 2024.

Within the EU, the drop was due to a 5.4 per cent decrease in spending by visitors from euro area countries, which totalled €1.85 billion. However, spending by visitors from EU countries outside the euro area rose by 10.9 per cent to €587.8 million.

Among the main countries using the euro, spending by visitors from Germany dropped by 16.5 per cent to €612.3 million. Spending from France decreased by 13.7 per cent to €262.7 million, and spending from Italy fell by 8.0 per cent to €337.5 million. On the other hand, visitors from the United Kingdom spent €848.7 million, a sharp increase of 40.0 per cent.

Spending by visitors from the United States declined by 3.1 per cent to €205.3 million, while spending by Russian visitors increased to €4.9 million.

Looking at the full eight-month period from January to August 2025, total money spent in Greece by foreign travellers rose by 12.0 per cent compared to the same time in 2024, amounting to €16.7 billion.

Of that, €9.18 billion came from visitors from EU-27 countries, marking an increase of 9.4 per cent. Visitors from countries outside the EU spent €6.71 billion, a rise of 14.9 per cent. Within the EU total, spending by travellers from euro area countries reached €7.11 billion, up by 7.2 per cent. Travellers from EU countries outside the euro area spent €2.07 billion, an increase of 17.4 per cent.

Among key markets, visitors from Germany spent €2.64 billion, up by 6.6 per cent. Spending from France increased by 5.5 per cent to €1.02 billion, and from Italy by 1.4 per cent to €984.3 million.

Visitors from the United Kingdom spent €2.49 billion, up by 8.7 per cent, while those from the United States spent €1.17 billion, marking a strong increase of 20.6 per cent. Spending from Russian visitors increased to €22.6 million.

Where are tourists visiting Greece from?

In terms of visitor numbers, August 2025 saw 7.47 million arrivals in Greece, up by 8.1 per cent compared to the same month in 2024.

Air travel increased by 2.7 per cent, while arrivals through road border crossings jumped by 22.7 per cent. The total increase was supported by a 4.5 per cent rise in visitors from EU-27 countries and a 14.6 per cent increase in arrivals from other countries.

Specifically, the number of travellers from euro area countries rose by 3.1 per cent to 2.93 million, while those from non-euro EU countries increased by 6.8 per cent to 1.71 million. Travel from Germany was up by 7.2 per cent to 1.08 million people. Visitor numbers from France dipped slightly by 0.7 per cent to 450,700, while those from Italy rose by 0.4 per cent to 555,300.

Arrivals from the United Kingdom grew strongly by 12.4 per cent to 978.4 thousand, while the number of visitors from the United States fell by 23.5 per cent to 174.2 thousand. Travel from Russia increased slightly to 4.1 thousand visitors.

Over the full January to August period, Greece welcomed 25.92 million inbound travellers, a 4.1 per cent increase compared to 24.89 million during the same time in 2024. Arrivals by air were up by 4.2 per cent, while road arrivals increased by 4.8 per cent.

A total of 15.29 million travellers came from EU-27 countries, which was nearly unchanged from the previous year, with a slight increase of 0.2 per cent. Within that group, visitors from the euro area rose by 3.8 per cent, while those from non-euro EU countries fell by 6.9 per cent. Arrivals from countries outside the EU rose more significantly, by 10.4 per cent, reaching 10.64 million people.

Among individual countries, Germany sent the most visitors, with 3.89 million arrivals, up by 7.8 per cent. France saw a decline of 6.3 per cent to 1.42 million visitors, while travel from Italy rose by 2.1 per cent to 1.58 million. Visitor numbers from the United Kingdom increased by 4.5 per cent to 3.28 million, and travel from the United States rose by 6.1 per cent to 1.08 million. Visitor arrivals from Russia increased to 20.1 thousand.

It is important to note that these figures do not include cruise ship passengers, except for those recorded through the Border Survey.