INSETE: 5 Greek Regions Account for 90% of Country’s Tourism Revenues

Greece’s tourism revenues reached 24 billion euros in 2022 contributing 11.5 percent directly to Greece’s GDP with 90 percent of all travel receipts concentrated in five of the country’s 13 regions, found a report released this week by INSETE, the Greek Tourism Confederation’s (SETE) research body.

More specifically, the five regions are: the South Aegean islands accounted for 27 percent of total tourism revenues, followed by Crete (21 percent), Attica (17 percent), the Ionian islands (15 percent) and Central Macedonia (9 percent).

According to the data, once again the South Aegean Region, which includes popular destinations like Mykonos and Santorini, was in the lead with more than 6.5 million people visiting the islands in the first 10 months of this year on 47,900 international flights surpassing 2022 levels for the same period by 1 percent despite the fires on Rhodes, the region’s largest island.

According to INSETE analysts, the 2022 figures demonstrate the resilience and dynamic of the sector particularly post-Covid.

The report goes on to add that key points of interest for travelers visiting Greece include culture, gastronomy and wine, beaches and diving destinations, hiking, skiing and traditional settlements. The majority of tourists arrive by air, followed by road tourism and lastly by boat or train.

At the same time, in addition to the majority of revenues concentrated in five regions, seasonality is also still an issue in Greece with the bulk of arrivals reported in the third quarter of 2022 and the July-September period accounting for 56 percent of all arrivals.