It is just mid-March but in Greece, the tourist season has already started.
The first charter flight carrying British tourists landed in Rhodes on Saturday, 11th of March.
The Dodecanese Island is known for a milder climate with temperatures rarely falling below 53° Fahrenheit daytime. Spring flowers are already in full bloom and the last few storms are vanishing.
The island’s mayor, Mr. Kambourakis highlighted the fact that three flights from the UK arrived so early in the season, marking the start of the touristic season for the whole country.
In comparison, in 2022, the first tourist flight arrived on Rhodes almost a fortnight later, on March 27th.
Greek Minister of Tourism, Mr. Kikilias mentioned in several interviews that the tourism season for 2023 in Greece will extend its length and potentially witness a 20% increase in numbers.
On February 25th, Mr. Kikilias also focused on the optimistic forecast based on flight schedules.
In the first half of February 2023, passenger traffic at Athens Venizelos Airport was already up 5% compared to February 2019, pre-pandemic.
Greece expects North American tourists to be the top source of revenue with around one million Americans travelers waiting to fly direct from the USA.
In 2022, despite the lack of visitors from major markets such as China, and Russia, revenues were close to those of 2019. On average, visitors spent around 700$ per person. A total of 27,8 million tourists visited the country. US citizen visitors increased by 216% compared to 2021. Total revenues from tourism stood at 18 billions dollars for 2022.
2023 is expected to be another step up for Greek tourism with two beaches included in the Top 25 best world beaches from Trip Advisor.
Falassarna Beach in Crete Island and the Balos lagoon are travelers’ choice awards for 2023.
Falassarna ranks at number 21 on the world’s best beaches list while ranking 6th on the European list.
Its unique pink sand and crystal blue waters make it a favorite among all visitors to Greece.
Balos lagoon, located in the northwest of Chania town, ranks 25th on the world’s list, and number 8th for the European awards.
International visitors can also add to their journey plans other Greek beaches that rank in the top 25 European list, in particular Sarakiniko Beach, on Milos Island and Kalamaki Beach on Zakinthos Island.
Greece was present at ITB Berlin last week as Germany is a key player in terms of visitors each year. ITB also gave visitors an opportunity to sample gastronomic samples and meet with the Greek actors in tourism.
With its strong slogan “All you want is Greece” and “You will want to stay forever”, Greece bets on an early start of the season to step up visitors’ numbers and also strengthen the job market in more regional spots.
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