Greece’s tourism industry is reaching new heights amid early indications that 2024 will see growth in visitor arrivals and revenues − following a record year in 2023.

Citing data on airline flights, frequencies and reservations so far, international tour operators are predicting the strongest year ever for Greek tourism and confirming the sector’s complete recovery from the pandemic. Partial data already show that Greek tourism last year surpassed pre-Covid levels set in 2019.

With its popular island destinations and cultural heritage, Greece is one of the world’s Top 20 tourist destinations. The industry is one of the main growth drivers of the economy, accounting for roughly one fifth of economic activity.

According to INSETE, the research institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation, tourist arrivals to Greece reached 33.4 million through November last year. That compares with 31.4 million arrivals for all of 2019. Likewise, Bank of Greece data show that tourism revenues through October reached €19.6 billion, compared with full year receipts of €18.2 billion in 2019.

In an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, the head of communications at German tour group giant TUI, Aage Dunhaupt, said he expected record numbers of German tourists to visit Greece in 2024. “Greece is heading for the highest performance of all time,” he said, adding that 2024 pre-bookings were already above 2019 levels.

To meet demand, half a dozen airlines from Europe and North America have already announced they are increasing the number of available seats – in some cases by as much 30% – to Greece this year. At least two new carriers have announced they will serve Athens for the first time, while at least three new destinations in Europe and Asia have been added.