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Italian, French and German tourists chose Greece this summer, according to the latest tourism data released by the Bank of Greece.
The data, which covers June, reveals that travel receipts rose by 8.8 per cent in June 2025 and by 11.0 per cent during the January to June 2025 period, compared to the same periods in 2024.
June saw growth in tourism income
In June 2025, revenue from travel increased by 8.8 per cent compared with June 2024. More specifically, revenue from travel by residents of EU-27 countries grew by 5.5 per cent, reaching €1.74 billion, while revenue from visitors outside the EU rose by 12.0 per cent to €1.40 billion, up from €1.25 billion in June 2024.
The growth in revenue from EU-27 residents was mainly driven by a 13.5 per cent increase in spending by visitors from eurozone countries, reaching €1.41 billion in June 2025 compared to €1.24 billion the previous year. However, revenue from visitors from EU-27 countries outside the eurozone fell by 18.8 per cent, down to €332 million.
Countries of origin of travellers
Among the main eurozone countries of origin, spending by visitors from Germany increased by 18.6 per cent to nearly €595 million, while French tourists boosted their expenditure by 19.9 per cent to around €192 million. Italy also saw a significant rise of 25.7 per cent, with total spending reaching €180 million.
Visitors from the United Kingdom spent 3.0 per cent more, totalling just over €600 million, and spending by American tourists surged by 64.7 per cent to approximately €247 million. Meanwhile, income from Russian visitors declined to €1.8 million.
In the first half of 2025, total tourism income grew by 11.0 per cent compared to the same period in 2024, reaching about €7.66 billion. This increase was supported by an 8.5 per cent rise in earnings from visitors from EU-27 countries, which amounted to just over €4.07 billion, alongside a 13.7 per cent growth from tourists outside the EU-27, which totalled around €3.21 billion.
More specifically, income from visitors within the eurozone reached €3.29 billion, up 7.7 per cent, while earnings from visitors from EU-27 countries outside the eurozone rose by 12.4 per cent to approximately €779 million.
The travel balance
According to preliminary data, Greece’s travel surplus in June 2025 reached nearly €3.0 billion, up from around €2.79 billion in June 2024.
Tourism income in June 2025 was approximately €3.31 billion, marking an 8.8 per cent increase compared to €3.04 billion in the same month last year. Meanwhile, travel-related payments—money spent by Greeks travelling abroad—increased sharply by 31.4 per cent to nearly €322 million.
The rise in tourism income was mainly driven by a 10.2 per cent increase in average spending per trip, despite a 1.7 per cent decrease in the number of inbound visitors. Net earnings from tourism services offset 94.4 per cent of Greece’s goods trade deficit and made up 92.6 per cent of total net service revenues.
Between January and June 2025, Greece’s travel surplus increased to nearly €6.0 billion, up from about €5.55 billion in the same period in 2024. Tourism income rose by €760 million, or 11.0 per cent, reaching approximately €7.66 billion, while travel payments—money spent by Greeks abroad—increased by €323 million, or 24.0 per cent, to around €1.67 billion.
This growth was supported by a slight 0.6 per cent rise in visitor numbers and a 10.1 per cent increase in average spending per trip. Net earnings from travel services helped cover 35.4 per cent of Greece’s goods trade deficit and accounted for 81.6 per cent of total net service revenues.
Earnings from German visitors rose by 13.5 per cent to around €1.37 billion, while spending by French tourists increased by 2.1 per cent to nearly €456 million. Income from Italian visitors grew by 9.0 per cent, reaching about €345 million.
Among other countries, spending by British visitors went up by 7.3 per cent to just over €1.08 billion, and American tourists increased their spending by 29.4 per cent to approximately €704 million. Income from Russian visitors also grew, reaching €9.6 million.
Trends in inbound travel
In June 2025, inbound travel to Greece totalled approximately 4.6 million travellers, a 1.7 per cent decline compared to June 2024. Airport arrivals increased by 3.3 per cent, while crossings at road border stations fell sharply by 19.7 per cent.
The overall decrease was mainly due to an 8.1 per cent drop in travellers from EU-27 countries, whereas arrivals from other countries rose by 8.0 per cent. More specifically, arrivals from eurozone countries increased by 7.2 per cent to about 1.95 million travellers, but those from EU-27 countries outside the eurozone fell by 35.5 per cent to approximately 651,000.
Looking at individual countries, arrivals from Germany rose by 9.5 per cent to 769,000, from France by 29.6 per cent to 268,000, and from Italy by 29.7 per cent to 305,000. Among non-EU countries, arrivals from the United Kingdom grew by 14.9 per cent to 811,000, while those from the United States rose by 24.1 per cent to 231,000. Russian arrivals increased to 3,000.
In the first half of 2025, total inbound travel increased by 0.6 per cent to approximately 11.7 million travellers, compared to 11.6 million in the same period of 2024. Airport arrivals rose by 4.9 per cent, but road border arrivals decreased by 13.1 per cent.
During this period, arrivals from EU-27 countries dropped by 6.3 per cent to 6.41 million, while arrivals from other countries increased by 10.5 per cent to 5.28 million. Travel from eurozone countries grew by 2.4 per cent, whereas arrivals from EU-27 countries outside the eurozone fell by 27.5 per cent.
Specifically, arrivals from Germany increased by 4.7 per cent to 1.85 million, but arrivals from France decreased by 9.8 per cent to 610,000. Italy saw a 4.9 per cent rise to 617,000 arrivals. Among non-EU countries, arrivals from the United Kingdom grew by 11.0 per cent to 1.52 million, while those from the United States rose by 20.0 per cent to 694,000. Russian arrivals also increased to 10,600.
It is worth noting that inbound travel does not include figures from cruises.