Tourism Revenue Rises 14.8% in First Half of 2026

Greece earned 6,928.6 million euros more from tourism than Greek residents spent traveling abroad in the first six months of 2026, up from a surplus of 6,012.2 million euros in the same period of 2025, according to data from the Bank of Greece. The bank refers to this figure as the travel balance, the gap between what foreign visitors spend in Greece and what Greek residents spend when they travel to other countries.

Money spent by visitors in Greece, known as travel receipts, rose by 1,131.9 million euros, or 14.8%, to reach 8,796.3 million euros between January and June. Spending by Greek residents traveling abroad rose by 215.5 million euros, or 13.0%, to 1,867.6 million euros. The rise in visitor spending was driven by a 15.4% increase in the number of foreign arrivals, even as the average amount spent per trip fell by 0.6%.

Visitors from the rest of the European Union spent 10.7% more, a total of 4,526.4 million euros, while visitors from outside the EU spent 19.7% more, a total of 3,859.9 million euros. Within