Santorini. Photo: Shutterstock The Greek tourism industry continued to perform strongly in the first half of 2026. According to data from the Central Bank of Greece, the country's tourism revenues totaled €8.8 billion in January-June, up 14.8% from the same period last year.
At the same time, tourist arrivals to Greece increased by 15.4% to 13.49 million visitors, up from 11.69 million in the same period in 2025. The increase was particularly strong for tourist traffic from European Union countries, which rose 19.3%.
Greece's tourism balance also strengthened: the surplus in January-June was €6.93 billion, compared to €6.01 billion in the same period last year. Net tourism revenues accounted for 88.8% of Greece's total net services revenues.
But the June figures present a slightly more complex picture. While the number of tourists rose by 6.9% to 4.92 million, revenues grew by a modest 1.2% to €3.48 billion. The reason: average expenditure per tourist fell by 6.2%.
In the market breakdown, Italy stands out: Greece's revenue from Italian tourists jumped 34.4% in June to €248.3 million. On the other hand, revenue from tourists from Germany fell 14.5%, from France fell 33.9%, and from the UK fell 26.1%. Revenue from the United States also fell 3.7%.
Looking at the first half as a whole, the picture is more positive: revenue from Italian tourists jumped 31.1%, from the British by 8.5%, and from Americans by 10.8%. Revenue from Germany, on the other hand, fell by 6.3%, and from France by 7.4%.
The data indicates continued growth in tourism to Greece, but also an important change: more tourists are coming to the country, but in some markets they are spending less money during their vacation.