Sawt Falasteen - Greece set new tourism record in 2025

"In 2025, inbound travel increased by 5.6 percent and reached 37,98 (million) travellers, compared with 35,95 (million) travellers in 2024," the Greek central bank said in a statement.

EU arrivals rose by 2.8 percent while non-EU visitors increased by 10 percent, it said.

The provisional data does not include cruise ship traffic, the bank said.

Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni said 2025 was the "best year of all time" for the sector.

She told state TV ERT that travel receipts stood at 23.6 billion euros ($27.8 billion) compared to 21.6 billion euros in 2024, a rise of more than nine percent according to the Bank of Greece.

And early data suggests 2026 will also be "a good year," she said.

But the sector has seen some hiccups.

In early January, a communications blackout at Athens International Airport snarled flights for hours, when multiple radio frequencies serving Athens airspace were hit by continuous "noise" interference.

Hundreds of flights had to be diverted to neighbouring countries, with thousands of travellers hit.

An official report later blamed the glitch on "obsolete technology". A 300-million euro infrastructure upgrade is underway.

On February 19, a backup radar at the airport temporarily failed, after a similar problem in August, air traffic controllers said.

Greece ranks in the top five most touristed countries in the European Union, behind France, Spain and Italy, and around the same level as Germany.

Q.Jaber--SF-PST