At 20 billion euro, Greece achieves record tourism revenues

Visitors tightening their belt

However, September broke the upward rhythm. September receipts slipped as spending per visitor tightened, revealing a mixed picture behind record demand.

Looking in details, monthly tourism revenue dropped 3.6% to €3.4 billion, even as arrivals rose by the same rate, underscoring a shift in traveler behavior. The Bank of Greece flagged the core issue: average spend per trip fell 7.8% compared to September 2024.

Greece pullback was most pronounced among visitors from euro-zone countries. Revenue from all EU-27 markets declined 10.2% to €1.8 billion that month, with German tourism spend suffering a 28.3% slide to €477.5 million.

France and Italy moved in the opposite direction. French tourism receipts climbed 20% to €168.7 million, while Italian tourism spend surged 42.5% to €212.5 million, cushioning some of the pressure from larger markets underperforming.

The UK bucked the broader slowdown among major source countries, delivering a 27.4% jump in tourism receipts to €612.7 million. Meanwhile, American tourism revenue dropped 19.5% to €224.9 million despite more U.S. citizens traveling abroad during the period.

Greece heading to a new record year

Looking at the January to September period, EU-27 markets delivered €10.9 billion in tourism receipts (up 5.6%) while non-EU countries contributed €8.1 billion, a 12.7% annual increase. International tourism arrivals outside the EU climbed 9.3% to 12.7 million, reflecting accelerating momentum from long-haul travel.

Air travel and road travel both posted 4.3% growth through September. Germany retained its position as Greece’s largest tourism partner at 4.8 million tourists (up 8.2%). The U.K. followed at 4 million, up 4.3%. The U.S. added 1.2 million tourists, representing a 5.6% annual gain.

Travel logistics are evolving as Europe digitizes border processing. The European Union will roll out its digital entry tracking system in 2026. By then, bio-metric registration will help to reduce visa fraud and travel overstays.

Greece will be among the member states implementing the program, adding a new variable to visitor planning. The new border framework could meanwhile change booking windows and traveler’s patterns while adding costs.