Greece's tourism sector enjoyed a strong first four months of 2026, with travel receipts and arrivals moving to clearly higher levels compared with the same period in 2025.
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In April 2026, the travel balance posted a surplus of €735.9 million, up from €697.3 million in April 2025. Travel receipts rose by 9.5%, reaching €1.11 billion, from €1.02 billion a year earlier.
The increase was mainly driven by a 10.6% rise in inbound travel flows, despite a slight 1% drop in average spending per trip.
The picture over the first four months is even more striking. The travel balance surplus jumped to €1.66 billion from €1.05 billion in the same period of 2025, an increase of more than 58%.
Travel receipts were up by €752.9 million, or 36.9%, reaching €2.79 billion, while travel payments rose by 14% to €1.13 billion.
The rise in revenues was accompanied by a sharp increase in arrivals. Inbound travel reached 5.24 million visitors from January to April, up 27.1% from 4.12 million in the same period of 2025. The increase in arrivals via land border crossings was particularly pronounced, soaring by 67.8%, while air traffic grew by 12.8%.
Receipts from EU countries increased by 38.7% to €1.37 billion, while those from non-EU countries rose by 37.5%, reaching €1.34 billion.
Similarly, arrivals from EU countries were up 36.1%, while arrivals from the rest of the world increased by 18.3%.
At market level, Italy stood out, with revenues increasing by 57.5% in the four-month period and arrivals up 21.6%. The United Kingdom also made a particularly strong contribution, with travel receipts reaching €331.7 million and travel flows rising by 51%. France also posted positive figures, with revenues up 12.6% and arrivals up 14.1%.
The figures confirm the strong start to this year’s tourism season, with the sector recording double-digit growth in both arrivals and revenues, giving a significant boost to the services balance and the Greek economy as a whole.