The Bank of Greece’s data for the first quarter of 2026 shows an extremely dynamic trend for Greek tourism, confirming that Greece is becoming a four-season destination. Inbound travel increased by 28.3%, exceeding 3.4 million visitors, while the rise in tourism revenues was even greater, increasing by 64.3% to €1.676 billion, raising expectations for a record year.
The significant boost in receipts came from both EU-27 countries and other markets. In particular, revenues from EU visitors increased by 66.4% to €825.2 million, while revenues from non-EU countries rose by 65.2% to €824.2 million. Travellers from the euro area contributed 709.3 million euros, an increase of 64.6%, while receipts from non-euro area EU countries amounted to 116 million euros, an impressive 78% increase.
At country level, receipts from Germany increased by 6.6% to €122.5 million. The French market was even more dynamic, with a 39.1% increase and revenues of €45.2 million, while tourists from Italy spent €113.8 million, up 66.5%. The performance from the United Kingdom was also particularly strong, with receipts amounting to 213.3 million euros, while the United States recorded a 6% increase, with revenues of 172.5 million euros.
In terms of tourist traffic, arrivals from the EU-27 countries reached 1.785 million travellers, an increase of 51.5% compared to the same period in 2025. At the same time, visitors from outside the EU increased by 26.2%, reaching 1.615 million. Arrivals from eurozone countries increased by 43.9%, while arrivals from non-euro EU countries almost doubled, recording a 94.4% increase.
As a country, visitors from Germany increased by 21.6% to 297.3 thousand travellers. France was up 27.6%, with 77.4 thousand arrivals, while visitors from Italy rose 25% to 159.6 thousand.
Of the non-EU markets, the rise from the UK was particularly strong, with an increase of 49.3% and a total of 250 thousand travellers. In contrast, tourist traffic from the US fell by 8.6%, to 172.5 thousand visitors, according to data from APE-MPA.
