Greece Welcomes Return of Key Tourist Markets in 2022

Greek tourism stakeholders are welcoming the return of key source markets which are contributing to the sector’s post-Covid-19 recovery.

“We’ve seen the return of very important markets this year,” said Deputy Tourism Minister Sofia Zacharaki, who referred to the increase in flights from the US, Australia and Canada. The deputy minister added that the return to Greece of diaspora Greeks for the holidays was also a very crucial part of this year’s success.

In an interview to local media, Zacharaki said she was optimistic about arrivals and revenues and that the signs were positive, adding that a full assessment of this year’s tourism performance will be made at the beginning of next year.

Greek Deputy Tourism Minister Sofia Zacharaki.

She added that Greece was faring well so far, that June and July were very dynamic and that the country had managed to a great extent to recoup pandemic losses and come very close to record year 2019 levels.

“June and July were very dynamic.  For consecutive weeks, the number of direct flights from abroad were up by about 0.5 to 1 percent,” she said.

Major markets stimulating tourism in Greece include the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Israel, Cyprus, Austria, Switzerland, and Scandinavian countries, she said adding that there was also strong interest from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Zacharaki went on to add that interest in Greece was also picking up in India and Armenia

Lastly, she referred to the importance of extending the tourist season, which this year, she said, is set to continue into December, and that this can be achieved with the introduction of special interest tourist products. This was the case, she said, last year also at many destinations, such as Crete and Rhodes, helped by the weather where people left at the end of November.”