The United Kingdom and Germany remained the two largest international tourism markets for Greece in 2025, while the United States held its position as the country’s leading long-haul source of visitors, according to newly released data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
The five largest source markets—the UK, Germany, the United States, France, and Italy—accounted for approximately 49 percent of all foreign arrivals at hotels, campsites, and other collective short-stay accommodations across Greece last year.
Although international tourism continued to expand, the latest figures suggest that the rapid post-pandemic recovery is beginning to moderate.
Foreign arrivals continued to rise
ELSTAT recorded 28.18 million foreign arrivals at hotels, campsites, and collective tourist accommodations in 2025, up from 27.38 million in 2024 and 26.28 million in 2023.
Annual growth slowed to 2.9 percent in 2025 after increasing by 4.2 percent the previous year. Over the two-year period, Greece added nearly 1.9 million foreign arrivals, representing cumulative growth of 7.2 percent.
Overnight stays followed a similar pattern. International visitors generated 131.05 million overnight stays in 2025, compared with 128.18 million in 2024 and 123.11 million in 2023. While overnight stays continued to increase, the annual growth rate eased from 4.1 percent in 2024 to 2.2 percent in 2025.
The figures refer to registered stays at hotels, campsites, and other collective tourist accommodations. They do not represent total international border crossings, nor do they necessarily reflect unique travelers, since visitors staying at multiple properties during the same trip may be counted more than once.
Europe strengthens its dominance
Europe remained by far Greece’s largest tourism market.
Visitors residing in European countries accounted for 22.72 million arrivals in 2025, representing 80.6 percent of all foreign accommodation arrivals. That share increased slightly from 80.4 percent in 2024 and 79.5 percent in 2023, underscoring Greece’s continued reliance on European travelers.
Countries within the European Union generated nearly 14.93 million arrivals, while non-EU European markets contributed another 7.78 million. Growth outside the EU was driven largely by higher visitor numbers from the United Kingdom, Serbia, and Turkey.
The ten largest source markets together generated 18.32 million arrivals in 2025, accounting for roughly 65 percent of all foreign guests.
Britain extends its lead
The United Kingdom remained Greece’s largest tourism market, widening its lead over Germany.
British arrivals rose from 4.06 million in 2023 to 4.37 million in 2024 before reaching 4.62 million in 2025. Over the three-year period, arrivals increased by 13.8 percent, with British travelers representing 16.4 percent of all international accommodation arrivals in Greece last year.
Germany retained second place, providing a steady but more modest rate of growth. German arrivals rose from 3.46 million in 2023 to 3.59 million in 2025, an overall increase of 3.7 percent across the period.
US remains the largest non-European market
The United States continued to rank as Greece’s third-largest individual tourism market and the country’s most important source of visitors from outside Europe.
American arrivals reached approximately 2.4 million in both 2024 and 2025. After a slight increase in 2024, arrivals declined by 1.6 percent in 2025, leaving overall growth since 2023 at just 0.4 percent.
Despite the slowdown, the US market continued to account for about 8.5 percent of all international arrivals, maintaining its strategic importance for Greek tourism.
France remained fourth despite recording fewer arrivals than in 2023. After declining in 2024, French arrivals recovered only marginally in 2025 and remained nearly 4 percent below 2023 levels.
Italy ranked fifth. Although arrivals fell slightly in 2025 following strong growth the previous year, the Italian market still posted an overall gain of 5.5 percent across the three-year period.
Poland, Romania, and the Netherlands continue to expand
Among Europe’s mid-sized tourism markets, Poland recorded one of the strongest and most consistent performances.
Polish arrivals surpassed 1.1 million in 2025, marking cumulative growth of 9.8 percent since 2023.
The Netherlands also exceeded one million arrivals, while Romania continued its steady upward trend, reflecting the growing importance of nearby Balkan markets, particularly for destinations in northern Greece.
Serbia posts the strongest growth
Serbia recorded the fastest growth among Greece’s major tourism markets.
Arrivals climbed from 426,063 in 2023 to 705,037 in 2025, an increase of 65.5 percent over two years.
Sweden rounded out the top ten source markets with 688,179 arrivals, narrowly ahead of Turkey, which finished just outside the top ten despite posting one of the strongest growth rates. Turkish arrivals increased by more than 51 percent between 2023 and 2025, highlighting the growing importance of neighboring regional markets.
Among smaller source markets, Iceland recorded the highest percentage increase after Serbia, while China and Japan also posted notable gains as Asian travel to Greece continued its recovery.
The latest ELSTAT figures indicate that Greece’s tourism sector remains on a positive trajectory, supported primarily by European demand. However, the pace of growth has moderated compared with the immediate post-pandemic rebound, suggesting the industry may be entering a more mature phase of expansion.
Related: Tourism Alone Won’t Save Greece: Why a Complex Economy Is Urgently Needed
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