Greek Tourism Expected to Reach New Heights in 2024, Says Minister

Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni. Photo source: Tourism Ministry

Forecasts for Greek tourism currently see revenues reaching 22 billion euros, up from 20.6 billion euros in 2023, according to Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni.

Speaking during a press conference on Monday, Kefalogianni said the current forecasts create an optimistic tourism environment in Greece for 2024.

As the minister highlighted, 2023 was a success year for Greek tourism with revenues up from Greece’s record year of 2019 when the country recorded revenues of 18,2 billion euros.

Referring to this year, she said that the figures so far show another significant success in the first half of the year. More specifically:

– travel receipts increased by 12.2 percent (from 6.2 to 6.9 billion euros) compared to the same period in 2023

– inbound travel for the same period also increased by 15.5 percent year-on-year.

Challenges arise from Greek tourism success

Photo © Greek Travel Pages

According to the minister, the growth of the Greek tourism sector hides challenges that the government is called upon to address with targeted measures.

Referring to the measures, which include a new levy for cruise passengers and the increase of the climate resilience fee for hotels and short-term rentals, Kefalogianni said they are designed to ensure that the economic benefits from tourism are effectively returned to the destinations and local communities.

Additionally, the measures aim to alleviate the pressure caused by increased travel flows in certain destinations, especially during peak months.

“The issue is not widespread across Greece but rather localized to specific areas,” Kefalogianni said. “We are ushering in a new era for Greek tourism, focused on sustainable, high-quality development that ensures the benefits of tourism are fairly distributed across society.”