Greece is emerging as an increasingly attractive destination for Chinese travelers, as outbound tourism from China gains strong momentum in 2025.
Sichuan Airlines’ new route from Chengdu Tianfu International Airport to Athens, starting in June with a stopover in Istanbul, exemplifies this trend. The Greek embassy’s visa center in Chengdu enhances accessibility, crucial for attracting tourists from Sichuan province’s 90 million residents. A twinning agreement between Sichuan and Attica further strengthens regional cooperation.
Juneyao Airlines has increased Shanghai-Athens flights, operating with a 787-9 aircraft since April 13, to four weekly in 2025. Air China plans a seasonal increase from Beijing to Athens, boosting weekly flights with the A330-300 from four to five in July. China Eastern Airline’s expanded codeshare with Juneyao includes European routes, enhancing the connectivity with routes such as Shanghai-Athens.
Chinese tourism to soar with 12 weekly flights to Greece
Chinese arrivals in Athens surged 30 percent in 2024, with flight frequencies rising from three weekly in 2019 to twelve in the summer of 2025. However, INSETE Intelligence data suggests a slight seat supply decrease for 2025, contrasting with the rising demand.
Despite this, broader Chinese travel trends show increasing interest in European destinations post-pandemic. Predictions indicate outbound tourism surpassing pre-pandemic levels, with Europe being particularly appealing. The 2025 Chinese Traveler Sentiment Report highlights a record interest in international travel, with Europe topping destination preferences.
This trend aligns with Greece’s allure as a vacation destination for Chinese tourists due to their shared interests in nature, art, culture, and sports activities and their high spending habits. Thus, China remains a pivotal market, poised for further growth and collaboration, for Greek tourism.
Record tourism revenues in 2024 and prospects for 2025
Greece set a new record in tourism revenues for 2024, collecting 21.7 billion euros ($22.6 billion), up from 20.6 billion euros ($21.5 billion) in 2023, according to data released by the Bank of Greece in February.
The increase by 5.3 percent or 1.1 billion euros ($1.15 billion) compared to the previous year has long been expected by both Greek government officials and tourism businesses, given the steady rise of tourist arrivals throughout 2024.
Following a two-year pause during the pandemic when international travel was affected and tourism came to a standstill, Greece has been seeing a steady increase both in the number of tourist arrivals and tourism revenues.
The early signs from the 2025 Greek summer tourism season are raising concerns for traditional tourism powerhouses such as Santorini, Mykonos, and Paros.
These islands, long considered the “heavyweights” of Greek tourism, are facing a rocky start, while other regions are enjoying an unexpected surge, with booking and arrival numbers soaring above those of previous years.
On the flip side, some regions are enjoying a banner year. Crete and Rhodes continue to dominate as perennial favorites for major tour operators and individual travelers alike. Notably, the rise in direct, self-booked vacations is becoming a growing trend that can no longer be ignored.
The true standouts this season, however, are two of the Ionian Islands: Zakynthos and Corfu. The Ionian Islands as a whole saw a 5.5 percent rise in visitors last year with 3.8 million arrivals.
Related: Greek Tourism in Flux: Flagship Islands Struggle While New Stars Rise
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