Tourist Traffic to Mykonos, Santorini Still Slow in Jan-May

Tourist traffic to Greece’s two most popular islands – Mykonos and Santorini – was slow in  the first five months of the year to May, according to data on the country’s 14 regional airports released by managing company Fraport Greece.

More specifically, the number of international arrivals to Mykonos in the January-May period dropped by 7.2 percent compared to the 2023 period and by 1 percent on Santorini.

In May, the ‘official’ launch of the summer season, arrivals to Mykonos were down by 4.9 percent over May 2023. Santorini however managed to post a 1.5 percent rise in May over the year-ago month.

Domestic travel to the two islands was up in the five-month period and in May this year, data found, with total traffic (domestic and international) to Mykonos up by 0.1 percent in the five months over last year and by 8.2 percent for Santorini in the same period.

Overall arrivals in May were also up for both islands with Mykonos reporting a 1 percent rise and Santorini a 3.9 percent increase for the month over last year.

Based on hotel booking data however, Mykonos is down by 20 percent and Santorini by 13 percent compared to the same period in 2023.

On the up side, according to Fraport Greece, traffic through the country’s 14 regional airports rose to 3.6 million passengers in the period under review up by 11.3 percent against 2023. International arrivals were up  by 11.6 percent and domestic traffic by 10.2 percent over May 2023.

Leading the way the airports of Lesvos (+25.8 percent), Zakynthos (+17.4 percent), and Rhodes (+16.7 percent).

Thessaloniki airport handled the largest number of travelers at 686,000.

In April, the country’s regional airports handled a total of 1.67 million passengers marking a 2.8 percent rise over the same month a year ago and continuing the March dynamic.