Arrivals by Air and Road to Greece Reach 4.4 Million in First Four Months

Tourists on Santorini.

The number of arrivals by air and road to Greece reached 4.4 million in the first four months of the year, according to data released by INSETE, the Greek Tourism Confederation’s (SETE) research body.

More specifically, according to INSETE’s May statistical bulletin which includes data released by the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA), Athens International Airport (AIA), and regional airport manager Fraport Greece, arrivals by air in the January-April period increased by 47.1 percent, fast approaching pre-Covid 2019 levels (2.5 million) and arrivals via road grew by 33.2 percent.

2.7 million international arrivals by air

Overall, in the first four months of the year, Greece welcomed a total of 2.7 million international arrivals. Arrivals by air were up 871,000 compared to the same period in 2022. AIA handled 1.5 million international arrivals, up by 71.3 percent.

Domestic flights from January to April came to 2.2 million up by 33.2 percent compared to 1.6 million a year ago.

Regional airports also fared well. Thessaloniki’s airport reported a 42.6 percent rise in international traffic, Heraklion airport (+14.7 percent), Chania airport (+15 percent), Rhodes airport (+35 percent), Corfu airport (+8.4 percent), and Zakynthos airport (+16.2 percent).

On the down side, the following airports reported declines: Kos (-2.1 percent), Mykonos (-25.8 percent) and Santorini (-5 percent).

According to INSETE, all regions in Greece reported increased tourist activity in the four-month period under review compared to a year ago with the exception of the Cyclades and the Peloponnese.

Arrivals by road up 33.2%

In the same period under review, arrivals to Greece via road grew by 33.2 percent. In the January-April period in 2019, road arrivals had reached 2 million.

In the four-month period to April 2023, the number of road arrivals came to 1.7 million compared to 902,000 in the same period a year ago, up by 85.1 percent or an additional 768,000 arrivals.

According to data provided by border crossing points, incoming arrivals by road from Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Northern Macedonia increased compared to the same months in 2022. The largest increases in arrivals were reported from Northern Macedonia up by 114 percent, Bulgaria (+82.7 percent), Albania (+38.1 percent) and Turkey (+248 percent).