Greece’s tourist arrivals and travel surplus further up on strong summer season

Greece posted another robust month for tourism in August 2025, with the balance of travel services reaching a surplus of €4.15 billion — up from €3.83 billion a year earlier, according to provisional data from the Bank of Greece.

The gain came as travel receipts jumped 10.5% to €4.52 billion, driven by both a rise in visitor numbers and higher spending per trip. Travel payments also grew sharply, up 41.4% to €375 million.

The Bank of Greece stresses that tourism remains one of the country’s most important economic engines. Net travel revenue offset 188% of Greece’s goods deficit in August and accounted for nearly 94% of total net service receipts.

For the first eight months of the year, the trend remained positive. The sector delivered a €14.34 billion surplus through January–August 2025. This is to be compared with €13.04 billion during the same period in 2024. Travel receipts totaled €16.71 billion — a 12% increase — helped by 4.1% growth in inbound traffic and a 7.2% rise in average spending.

Payments were also higher, up 26% to €2.37 billion. Over the eight-month period, net tourism revenue covered 65% of the goods deficit and represented 88% of net service earnings.

Travel receipts: Strong gains outside the eurozone

August receipts were buoyed by visitors from non-EU markets, with revenue from non-EU travelers surging 30.5% to €1.86 billion. However, income from EU residents slipped 2% to €2.44 billion, reflecting a decline in spending by eurozone visitors.

Germany — Greece’s top source market — posted a significant drop: receipts fell 16.5% to €612.3 million. Spending from France and Italy also weakened, down 13.7% and 8%, respectively.

By contrast, the United Kingdom delivered a major boost, with receipts soaring 40% to €848.7 million. U.S. spending dipped slightly, down 3.1% to €205.3 million, while receipts from Russia edged up to €4.9 million.

From January to August, the picture was stronger overall. Revenue from EU travelers increased 9.4% to €9.18 billion, while receipts from non-EU visitors climbed nearly 15% to €6.71 billion. The U.S. market was a standout performer, up 20.6% year-on-year, alongside Germany (+6.6%), France (+5.5%), Italy (+1.4%), and the U.K. (+8.7%).

Inbound arrivals: Mixed results by market

Greece welcomed 7.47 million inbound travelers in August, up 8.1% from a year earlier. Air arrivals rose 2.7%, while road arrivals grew a notable 22.7%. Visitor numbers increased from both EU (+4.5%) and non-EU markets (+14.6%).

Germany again led arrivals growth within the euro area, up 7.2% to 1.08 million visitors. France posted a slight decline, while Italy showed modest improvement. Among key long-haul markets, U.K. arrivals jumped 12.4%. U.S. travel, however, dropped sharply in August — down 23.5% — even as receipts held relatively steady.

Between January and August, total arrivals reached 25.92 million, an increase of 4.1% year-on-year. Airport traffic rose 4.2% and road arrivals 4.8%. Notably, arrivals from the eurozone climbed 3.8%, while non-euro EU travel lagged. The U.S. and U.K. markets both expanded, while France posted a decline.

Market trends :

• EU27 arrivals: 15.29 million (+0.2%)

  • Eurozone visitors: +3.8%

  • Non-euro EU visitors: –6.9%

• Non-EU arrivals: 10.64 million (+10.4%)

By inbound markets :

• Germany: 3.89 million visitors (+7.8%)

• United Kingdom: 3.28 million (+4.5%)

• United States: 1.08 million (+6.1%)

• Italy: 1.58 million (+2.1%)

• France: 1.42 million (–6.3%)

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