Greek tourism revenue rose 14.8% to €8.8B in H1 2026 as June per-trip spending fell

First-half growth and travel balance

Inbound travel traffic to Greece rose 15.4% in the first six months of 2026, reaching 13.49 million visitors compared to 11.69 million in the same period of 2025, according to provisional data released by the Bank of Greece. Total travel receipts increased by 14.8%, or 1,131.9 million euros, to reach 8,796.3 million euros during the January to June period. Travel payments by Greek residents abroad also expanded by 13.0% to 1,867.6 million euros. Consequently, the travel balance generated a surplus of 6,928.6 million euros, up from 6,012.2 million euros in the first half of 2025. Across the entire six-month span, average spending per trip declined marginally by 0.6%, with net travel service receipts covering 46.3% of the trade deficit in goods.

June spending deceleration

The growth rate of tourism revenue slowed at the start of the summer season. In June 2026, inbound travel receipts rose 1.2% year-on-year to 3,476.5 million euros, compared with 3,434.6 million euros in June 2025. This revenue increase trailed behind a 6.9% rise in visitor numbers, which totaled 4.9 million travelers for the month. The gap between traffic growth and revenue gains stemmed from a 6.2% decline in average expenditure per trip. Meanwhile, travel payments by Greek residents rose 17.1% to 360.2 million euros, bringing the June travel balance surplus to 3,116.3 million euros compared with 3,127.0 million euros in June 2025. Net travel receipts in June offset 119.2% of the goods trade deficit and accounted for 96.1% of total net service receipts.

Country-by-country receipt trends

Spending patterns showed divergence across primary tourist origin markets during both the first half of the year and the month of June. In the six-month period, receipts from EU-27 residents grew 10.7% to 4,526.4 million euros, led by a 13.3% rise in Eurozone spending to 3,777.8 million euros. Non-EU visitor receipts increased 19.7% to 3,859.9 million euros. Germany remained the largest individual market in the first half with 1,275.9 million euros, despite a 6.3% decline. Receipts from the United Kingdom rose 8.5% to 1,179.2 million euros, while American tourists spent 796.9 million euros, a 10.8% increase. Receipts from Italy rose 31.1% to 470.0 million euros, whereas French visitor spending fell 7.4% to 414.3 million euros.

Shifting arrival volumes in June

In June 2026, receipts from EU-27 visitors edged up 1.5% to 1,850.2 million euros, while receipts from non-EU countries fell 1.2% to 1,439.9 million euros. June revenue from Germany fell 14.5% to 515.1 million euros, even as German visitor arrivals grew 6.0% to 814,600 travelers. French receipts fell 33.9% to 129.8 million euros alongside an 18.5% drop in arrivals to 218,200. Conversely, Italian travelers generated 248.3 million euros in June, up 34.4%, with arrivals rising 21.8% to 371,700. UK receipts fell 26.1% to 442.9 million euros as British visitor arrivals dropped 12.0% to 713,800. Travel from the United States also contracted in June, with receipts falling 3.7% to 257.8 million euros and arrivals decreasing 12.1% to 202,800.