INSETE presents the overall picture of Greek tourism through the Annual Report on Greek Tourism 2023 and the annual reports with the characteristics of tourism per Region, providing data for the formulation of the national strategy and the specific regional strategies in tourism.
Greek tourism, whose total contribution (including domestic tourism, investments, etc.) to GDP in 2023 will amount to 13% or 28.5 billion euros, will record marginally fewer overnight stays but higher receipts and higher average expenditure. The highest shares of inbound tourism receipts are recorded in the South Aegean Regions, at 27% of the total, followed by Crete with 26%, Attica with 19%, the Ionian Islands with 10% and Central Macedonia with 8%. These five regions - of which three are purely tourist - account for 91% of the country's receipts.
At the same time, Greece shows a high level of visitor satisfaction, at 9.1/10 on average at the peak of the season in all Regions with cultural experience at above average levels of 9.3 and 9.4 in Q3 and Q2 respectively, food & drink marginally lower at 9 for both quarters and the sea experience at 8.8 and 9.1 respectively. Considering the high rating of the culture dimension, as well as the country's significant cultural heritage, the development of cultural tourism remains a great opportunity to further enrich the Greek tourism product. At the same time, positive evaluations in touristically undeveloped areas of the country confirm the potential for the expansion of tourism activity in time and space.
The data on the overall picture of Greek tourism are recorded in a study by the Institute of the Hellenic Tourism Business Association (INSETE) entitled «Annual Greek Tourism Exhibition, 2023» (December 2024) and the individual relevant studies by Region. In addition to the overall picture of the tourism figures and the performance of Greek tourism and the tourism infrastructure, hotels, archaeological sites, museums, destinations, etc., this year's edition includes enriched data on the demand for short-term rental accommodation as well as evaluations of the experience per Region. The ratings are collected from 45 sources/platforms, e.g. Airbnb, Google, Expedia.com, Booking.com, Facebook, TripAdvisor, etc., representing 95% of all experience data available online. Finally, positive/negative feedback data for hotels posted on the web that influence the level of hotel customer satisfaction was added to the report.
The tourism figures for 2023
More specifically, regarding the performance of Greek tourism in 2023:
-Inbound tourism in Greece in the period 2019-2023 increased by 4%, from 31.3 million in 2019 to 32.7 million travellers in 2023. In terms of cruise, over the period 2019- 2023, cruise passenger arrivals increased by 26%, from 2.7 million in 2019 to 3.3 million in 2023. Overall, international arrivals reached 36 million, an increase of 6% compared to 2019 (34 million). In terms of seasonality, the main volume of arrivals is traditionally concentrated from the beginning to the end of the summer season (April-September) gathering 80% in 2019 and 79% of arrivals in 2023. Traditionally, the main mode of transport chosen by tourists visiting Greece is by air, followed by car, boat and train. This trend was further strengthened after 2019 for airplane (from 66% in 2019 to 73% in 2023).
-In 2023, inbound tourism receipts set a new record at 19.8 billion euros (excluding cruise) with an increase of 12%, from 17.7 billion euros in 2019. Cruise receipts increased over the period 2019-2023 by 70%, from €499 million in 2019 to €847 million in 2023. In total, inbound tourism and cruise receipts reached EUR 20.7 billion, an increase of 14% compared to 2019 (EUR 18.2 billion). In terms of seasonality of receipts, from the beginning to the end of the summer season (April-September), 85% of receipts were recorded (both for 2019 and 2023).
-The Average Spending per Visit to Greece in the period 2019-2023 increased by 13%, from 482 euros in 2019 to 546 euros in 2023. The Average Spend per Night over the same period increased by 14%, from 76 euros in 2019 to 87 euros in 2023, while the Average Length of Stay decreased marginally by 1% to 6.3 nights.
-Night stays in Greece in the period 2019-2023 recorded a decrease by
2% (from 232.5 million in 2019 to 227.9 million in 2023). Individually, all Regions recorded a decrease in the number of overnight stays, with the exception of the Regions of Crete (6%, from 43.3 million in 2019 to 227.9 million in 2023). in 2019 to 45.8 million in 2023), Attica (30%, from 34 million to 44.3 million in 2023), Ionian Islands (13%, from 23.7 million to 26.9 million in 2023) and Epirus (8%, from 4 million in 2019 to 4.3 million in 2023).
-As for the es per region, out of a total of EUR 19.8 billion in 2023, the picture is mixed. The Regions of South Aegean (3%, at €5.3 billion in 2023), Crete (44%, at €5.2 billion in 2023), Attica (46%, at €3.8 billion in 2023), Ionian Islands (7%, at €2 billion in 2023) and Epirus (26%, at €330 million in 2023) are recording an increase. On the contrary, the regions of Central Macedonia (33%, at EUR 1.5 billion in 2023), Peloponnese (8%, at EUR 383 million in 2023), An. Macedonia & Thrace (26% at 326 million euro in 2023), Thessaly (29% at 253 million euro in 2023), Western Greece (18% at 210 million euro in 2023), Sterea Greece (8% at 166 million euro in 2023), North Aegean (10% at 149 million euro in 2023) and Western Macedonia (33% at 51 million euro in 2023).
Short-term hiring
The number of nights spent through Airbnb in short term rentals in Greece during the period 2019-2023 increased by +34%. Specifically, while in 2019 the number of overnight stays - at the accommodation level - amounted to 10.9 million, while in 2023 it was 14.6 million. Given that in many cases two or more people stay overnight per accommodation, at the level of individuals the number of overnight stays was significantly higher, although precise data is not available. It should be noted that the demand data presented in the INSETE study (nights, average expenditure per night and occupancy) are for foreign and domestic visitors and only for bookings of less than 28 nights.
In terms of percentage distribution, the Region of Attica accounted for 23% of overnight stays in short-term rentals in 2023, followed by the Regions of Crete (17%), Cyclades (15%), Ionian Islands (13%), Central Macedonia (10%), Peloponnese (5%), Dodecanese (5%), Thessaly (4%), An. Macedonia & Thrace (2%), Sterea Ellada (2%), Epirus (1%), North Aegean (1%), Western Greece (1%) and Western Macedonia (0.2%). It is noteworthy that 78% of overnight stays were recorded in the island regions (Crete, Cyclades and Ionian Islands) and in the major urban centres of the country (Attica and Central Macedonia).
The Average Cost per Night in short-term rentals in Greece in 2019-2023 increased in all months. Indicatively, for the two summer months at the peak of the season, in July it increased by 34%, from EUR 119 in 2019 to EUR 159 in 2023 and in August by 33% from EUR 125 in 2019 to EUR 166 in 2023). Average Spend per Night refers to average accommodation rates and not average spend per traveller.
Elias Kikilias, Director General of INSETE, said: «Greece has strong tourism resources and the annual exhibitions highlight the huge potential to transform these resources into multidimensional tourism experiences. INSETE consistently provides all stakeholders with tools and data to design development strategies at regional level, with an emphasis on reducing seasonality and expanding tourism activity geographically. After all, the sector is showing a steadily increasing trend internationally. The question now is how Greece will claim its share of this global trend, strengthening sustainable and balanced development that will benefit residents in destinations throughout the country.»
