Greece set a new record in tourism revenues for 2024, collecting 21.7 billion euros ($22.6 billion), up from 20.6 billion euros ($21.5 billion) in 2023, according to data released by The Bank of Greece on Thursday, February 20.
The increase by 5.3 percent or 1.1 billion euros ($1.15 billion) compared to last year, has been long expected by both Greek government officials and tourism businesses given the steady rise of tourist arrivals throughout 2024.
After a two-year pause during the pandemic when international travel was affected and tourism came to a standstill, Greece has been seeing a steady increase both in the number of tourist arrivals and tourism revenues.
In 2019, the last year before global travel was interrupted due to COVID, Greece recorded revenues of 18.2 billion euros ($19.17 billion) and 31.3 million tourist arrivals. Numbers dropped dramatically in 2020 and 2021 and started to pick up again in 2022, when Greece welcomed 27.84 million international tourists, a 227 percent increase compared to 2020 but still 18 percent less than 2019 (pre-pandemic).
In 2023, Greece made a phenomenal comeback as an international tourism destination, and has continued to do so since. The number of tourists that visited the Mediterranean country of 10.3 million in 2023 (33 million) marked a 120 percent increase between 2019 and 2023.
Tourism accounts for over a quarter of Greece’s economic output and nearly two million Greeks’ annual income derives from the sector.
Greece tourism model faces sustainability challenges despite record revenues
Despite record revenues, retaining the current tourism model is not sustainable according to the country’s ombudsman, and Greece must reform if it is to protect its tourism sector.
In a report published in June 2024, the first on the tourism sector for the Greek Ombudsman since the authority was founded over 25 years ago, the ombudsman warned of the growing environmental risks, particularly the added strain on water supplies for drinking, swimming pools and water parks, and called for urgent reform.
Greece, the report said, needs to reduce rampant construction and protect water resources and coastal areas if it wants to maintain a healthy tourism industry.
“Our country’s economy relies heavily on tourism which makes the need to manage it in a sustainable way even more urgent,” the ombudsman said. Greece must not “exhaust its potential, wasting it and making our tourist destinations unattractive over time.”
Moreover, Greece is among the countries most affected by global warming. Rising sea levels, heat waves, erratic rainfall and frequent fires are altering its landscape. Tourism strains scarce water resources and threatens fragile coastal environments. Consequently, there are growing calls to limit building, control tourist flows and invest in water management and infrastructure.
The Greek government faces the challenge of balancing these threats with safeguarding crucial tourism profits.