Greek Islands Win Gold as “Most Desirable Region” in Travel Awards

The Greek islands have earned the top spot as the “most desirable region” for travelers in the Wanderlust 2021 Awards, which take place every year.

The awards, which are organized by Wanderlust, a British travel magazine, are based on votes from the publication’s readers.

Greece took gold in the “most desirable region” category, followed by the Azores in Portugal, and Sicily, which took silver and bronze, respectively.

Greek islands win “Most Desirable Region” in travel awards

It comes as no surprise that voters chose the Greek islands, as their unparalleled natural beauty, ancient history, and laid-back lifestyle make Greece’s countless islands some of the most sought-after tourist destinations in the world.

While many Greek islands like Santorini, Mykonos, and Paros are known around the world for their stunning landscapes, there are also many smaller, lesser-known islands that are the perfect escape from crowds of tourists.

Greece is home to thousands of islands, each of which has its own traditions, history, and landscape, which means that there are a variety of islands that are perfect for each and every traveler.

In fact, there are about 2,000 islands and islets in Greece, but only 170 of them are inhabited. The largest, Crete, has an area of ​​8,260 square kilometers (3,189 square miles).

Dimitris Fragakis, the General Secretary of the Greek National Tourism Organization, accepted the award at Kensington Palace during the World Tourism Market fair.

The Fair ran from November 1-3, and Greek Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias was also in attendance, along with representatives from many countries around the globe.

While there, Fragakis met with Sally Balcome, the CEO of VisitBritain, who heralded Greece for being “The first country that reopened its tourism industry after the coronavirus pandemic.”

Tourism rebounds in Greece

Despite the devastating impact the pandemic has had on global tourism, Greece has rebounded successfully in 2021.

The Bank of Greece announced in late October that more than 8.6 million tourists visited Greece from January to August this year. The bank reported that this is a 79% jump from last year’s visitors in the same time frame.

The tourism industry in Greece is on the upswing with a 135 % increase in earnings from 2020. The revenue for the first eight months of 2021 totaled 6.6 billion euros.

Greece welcomed more than two million visitors to its shores during just the months of July and August of 2021 — more than any other European nation — marking real success in its vital tourism industry despite the pandemic that is still raging across the world.

The two most popular months for Greek tourism haven’t seen that many visitors since 2019, which was a record year for that Greek sector.

Greece recognizes the most vaccines of any European country, which means that travelers from all over the world inoculated with one of these products — including Sputnik V from Russia and Sinovax from China — are allowed to enter the country and are exempted from quarantine restrictions.