Greek tourism posted impressive growth in March 2026, driving the travel balance surplus to €409.6 million, compared to €172.8 million in March 2025.
According to data from the Bank of Greece, travel receipts increased by 55.6%, reaching €669.4 million. This was driven both by a 38.1% rise in inbound travel traffic (1.27 million travelers) and a 13.8% increase in average spending per trip. These net receipts contributed 73.8% of total net services receipts, while offsetting 15.8% of the goods trade deficit.
For the first quarter of 2026 (January–March), the surplus surged to €928.4 million, compared to €352.6 million in 2025. Total receipts reached €1.67 billion (+64.3%), while average spending per trip rose by 19.9% and inbound traffic reached 3.4 million travelers (+38.3%). Particularly notable was the “explosion” in road tourism, which rose by 84.3% during the quarter, while air arrivals increased by 18.8%.
Regarding source markets in the first quarter, receipts from EU countries rose by 66.4% (to €825.2 million), with strong momentum from Germany (€122.5 million), France (+39.1%) and Italy (+66.5%). Among non-EU countries, the United Kingdom stood out with receipts of €213.3 million, while receipts from the United States totaled €172.5 million, despite a slight decline (-8.6%) in American arrivals during the quarter.
Travel balance
According to provisional data from the Bank of Greece, the travel balance in March 2026 recorded a surplus of €409.6 million, compared to €172.8 million in the same month of 2025. More specifically, travel receipts rose by 55.6% to €669.4 million, up from €430.3 million in March 2025, while travel payments also increased by 0.9% (€259.8 million versus €257.5 million).
The increase in travel receipts was attributed both to the 38.1% rise in inbound tourism traffic and to the 13.8% increase in average spending per trip. Net receipts from travel services offset 15.8% of the goods trade deficit and accounted for 73.8% of total net services receipts.
During January–March 2026, the travel balance showed a surplus of €928.4 million, compared to €352.6 million in the same period of 2025. Travel receipts increased by €655.9 million (+64.3%) to €1.676 billion, while travel payments rose by €80.1 million (+12.0%) to €747.7 million.
The growth in travel receipts was driven both by the 38.3% increase in inbound travel traffic and by the 19.9% increase in average spending per trip. Net travel service receipts offset 11.4% of the goods trade deficit and contributed 77.2% of total net services receipts.
Travel receipts
As mentioned above, travel receipts in March 2026 increased by 55.6% compared to March 2025. More specifically, receipts from residents of EU-27 countries rose by 56.6% to €347.8 million, while receipts from non-EU residents increased by 57.9% to €307.9 million.
The increase in receipts from EU-27 residents reflected growth both from eurozone countries (+59.5%, to €301.3 million) and from EU countries outside the eurozone (+40.1%, to €46.4 million).
Among the major eurozone source markets, receipts from Germany rose by 16.9% to €55.9 million, while receipts from France fell slightly by 0.3% to €15.8 million. Receipts from Italy surged by 100.4% to €58.1 million.
From non-EU countries, receipts from the United Kingdom increased by 35.5% to €39.9 million, while receipts from the United States rose by 42.8% to €80 million.
For the January–March 2026 period, travel receipts rose by 64.3% year-on-year to €1.676 billion. This development was driven both by a 66.4% increase in receipts from EU-27 residents (€825.2 million) and by a 65.2% increase in receipts from non-EU residents (€824.2 million).
More specifically, receipts from eurozone residents totaled €709.3 million, up 64.6%, while receipts from EU countries outside the eurozone rose by 78.0% to €116 million.
Receipts from Germany increased by 6.6% to €122.5 million, while those from France rose by 39.1% to €45.2 million. Receipts from Italy climbed by 66.5% to €113.8 million. From non-EU countries, receipts from the United Kingdom reached €213.3 million, while receipts from the United States rose by 6.0% to €172.5 million.
Inbound travel traffic
Inbound travel traffic in March 2026 reached 1.272 million travelers, an increase of 38.1% compared to March 2025. Traffic through airports rose by 18.5%, while traffic through road border crossings jumped by 85.0%.
The increase in inbound traffic came from both EU-27 countries (+55.5%) and non-EU countries (+22.3%). More specifically, travel traffic from eurozone countries reached 555,200 travelers, up 56.0%, while traffic from EU countries outside the eurozone rose by 53.2% to 124,500 travelers.
Travel traffic from Germany increased by 47.7% to 123,000 travelers, while traffic from France rose by 3.1% to 22,600 travelers. Traffic from Italy increased by 62.0% to 75,900 travelers.
Among non-EU countries, travel traffic from the United Kingdom rose by 36.9% to 85,800 travelers, while traffic from the United States declined by 6.8% to 74,500 travelers.
During January–March 2026, inbound travel traffic increased by 38.3% to 3.402 million travelers, compared to 2.459 million in the same period of 2025. Air travel traffic rose by 18.8%, while traffic through road border crossings surged by 84.3%.
During the same period, travel traffic from EU-27 countries reached 1.786 million travelers, up 51.5%, while traffic from non-EU countries rose by 26.2% to 1.616 million travelers. Traffic from eurozone countries increased by 43.9%, while traffic from EU countries outside the eurozone jumped by 94.4%.
Specifically, travel traffic from Germany rose by 21.6% to 297,300 travelers, from France by 27.6% to 77,400 travelers, and from Italy by 25.0% to 159,600 travelers.
Among non-EU countries, travel traffic from the United Kingdom increased by 49.3% to 250,000 travelers, while traffic from the United States declined by 8.6% to 172,500 travelers.
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