Video: Greece Tourism Back Stronger Than Ever

Tourists on Mykonos island, Greece.

Days before the end of 2022, the Greek tourism ministry released a video with actions taken over the year that helped the sector recover after Covid-19.

The video showcases tourism ministry campaigns that ran in 2022 which include extending the tourism season beyond the traditional summer months, increasing the number of inbound flights coming to the country earlier than ever before, and increasing port calls and home-porting by cruise ships.

The video also depicts international travelers visiting Greece off season in October, which marked the strongest performance ever, and Athens which is full of tourists for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

Additionally, the video features other tourism ministry initiatives such as the creation of a fresh storytelling approach, making more destinations and beaches accessible and subsidizing holidays for more low-income Greeks through the popular “Tourism for All” program.

Indicatively, tourism-related revenues in 2022 increased, compared to pre-pandemic 2019, in key source markets: in Germany by 7.2 percent, in France by 17.6 percent and in the UK by 21.3 percent, with tourist receipts expected to reach 18 billion euros in 2022.

According to Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias the country’s unprecedented performance this year despite the multiple global challenges is the result of hard work which included promotional and marketing actions all year round, participation in global tourism events and meetings, country visits to promote Greece, and boosting winter tourism and city breaks, among others.

In an interview to topontiki.gr, Kikilias said Greece achieved the greatest recovery in the EU in terms of commercial flights and that according to the UNWTO’s World Tourism Barometer, global tourism edged closer to pre-pandemic levels recovering 65 percent of 2019 activity, while Greece managed in several destinations such as the South Aegean Region to exceed 2019 levels.