With a 49% increase in travel traffic last December and a 5.6% increase for 2025 as a whole, reaching 38 million tourists (37.98 million), last year ended on a high note, according to data released by the Bank of Greece.
Travel receipts also performed strongly in December, up 33%, while for 2025 as a whole they recorded an increase of 9.4%, reaching €23.626 billion.
In particular, incoming travel traffic in December 2025 stood at 1,315,000 travelers, up 49% compared to the same month in 2024. In particular, travel through airports increased by 34.9% compared to December 2024, while travel through road border stations increased by 80.5%.
The increase in incoming travel was due to a 61.7% increase in travel from EU countries and a 36.6% increase from other countries. More specifically, travel from eurozone countries increased by 22.8% to 411,500 travelers, while travel from EU countries outside the eurozone increased by 190.9% to 293,700 travellers.
In particular, travel from Germany increased by 85.1% to 136,100 travellers, while travel from France decreased by 14.2% to 36,000 travellers. Travel from Italy increased by 83.5% to 59.4 thousand travelers. As for other countries, travel from the United Kingdom increased by 117.9% to 117,200 travellers, while travel from the USA decreased by 8.7% to 60,900 travellers. Finally, there was no travel traffic from Russia.
In 2025, inbound travel increased by 5.6% to 37,981,100 travelers, compared to 35,951,400 travelers in 2024. In particular, travel through airports recorded an increase of 5.6%, while travel through road border stations increased by 6.9%. During the period under review, travel from EU countries stood at 22,414,700 travelers, up 2.8% compared to 2024, while travel from other countries increased by 10% to 15,566,400 travelers. Travel from eurozone countries rose by 7.1%, while travel from EU countries outside the eurozone fell by 5.7%.
In particular, travel from Germany increased by 10.2% to 5,951,400 travelers, while travel from France decreased by 0.5% to 1,983,400 travelers. Travel from Italy increased by 8.6% to 2,200,500 travelers. As for other countries, travel from the United Kingdom increased by 7.6% to 4,893,100 travelers. Travel from the USA also increased by 0.2%, reaching 1,550,800 travellers. Finally, travel from Russia reached 21,500 travellers.
Travel balance
According to provisional data, the travel balance in December 2025 showed a surplus of €313.2 million, compared to a surplus of €170.7 million in the corresponding month of 2024, an increase of 83.5%. In particular, travel receipts recorded a 33% increase in December 2025, reaching €623.0 million, compared to €468.6 million in the corresponding month of 2024, while a 4% increase was also observed in travel payments (December 2025: €309.9 million, December 2024: €297.9 million).
The increase in travel receipts is due to a 49% rise in incoming travel, as the average expenditure per trip decreased by 10.6%. Net receipts from travel services offset 8.8% of the goods deficit and contributed 75.2% to total net receipts from services.
In 2025, the travel balance showed a surplus of €20,255.2 million, compared to a surplus of €18,787 million in 2024. Travel receipts increased by €2,033.7 million or 9.4% to €23,626 million, while travel payments increased by €565.5 million or 20.2% to €3,370.8 million. The rise in travel receipts was due to a 5.6% increase in incoming travel and a 3.8% increase in average expenditure per trip. Net receipts from travel services offset 59.9% of the goods deficit and contributed 89% to total net receipts from services.
Travel receipts
In December 2025, as mentioned above, travel receipts increased by 33.0% compared to the same month in 2024. More specifically, receipts from residents of EU countries rose by 10.9% to €295.1 million, as did receipts from residents of other countries, which increased by 63.3% (December 2025: €322.4 million, December 2024: €197.4 million).
The increase in receipts from residents of EU countries was the result of a 154.3% increase in receipts from residents of countries outside the euro area (December 2025: €82.9 million, December 2024: €32.6 million), while receipts from residents of euro area countries decreased by 9.1% to €212.2 million.
In particular, with regard to the most important countries of origin of travelers from the euro area, receipts from Germany decreased by 10% to €60.3 million. Revenues from France also fell by 13.5% to €15.9 million, while revenues from Italy rose by 59.4% to €31.4 million. Among other countries, receipts from the United Kingdomincreased by 176% to €83.8 million, as did receipts from the United States, which rose by 6.1% to €55.5 million. Finally, there were no receipts from Russia.
In 2025, travel receipts rose by 9.4% compared to 2024, reaching €23,626 million. This development is due to an increase in both receipts from residents of EU countries by 6.1%, which amounted to €12,695.9 million, and receipts from residents of other countries, which increased by 14.7% to €9,890.9 million. More specifically, receipts from residents of euro area countries amounted to €9,853.9 million, up 4%, while receipts from residents of EU countries outside the euro area increased by 14.1% to €2,842 million.
In particular, receipts from Germany rose by 2.2% to €3,784 million, as did receipts from France, which increased by 5.9% to €1,333.7 million. Revenues from Italy also increased by 5.1% to €1,287.6 million. Among other countries, receipts from the United Kingdom rose by 18.5% to €3,744.3 million, while receipts from the United States increased by 8.5% to €1,717.8 million. Finally, receipts from Russia amounted to €23.8 million.