The picture is particularly positive in almost all areas of the country
An increase of 18.3% is recorded in direct hotel bookings in Greece’s most important destinations for Easter 2025, compared to 2024 Easter levels.
This conclusion is drawn from an analysis of Nelios to all direct hotel reservations to the main Greek destinations for Easter. The analysis was based solely on booking data that includes overnight stay on Good Saturday, regardless of residence duration. The overwhelming majority of Greek destinations are on positive territory and two in three even scoring a double -digit rate, with Crete emerging as the absolute “star” of reservation dynamics. However, two of the most iconic destinations for Greek tourism, Mykonos and Santorini, “lose” the momentum of this upward course.
A feature of this year’s Easter mobility is also that reservations come from a total of 112 different countries (with at least one detention from each), and domestic tourism supplies Greek hotels with 12.6% more Greek bookings than Easter 2024. Authentic experiences. The ultimate protagonist is Crete, which is a spectacular rise in 82.4% compared to the Easter period of 2024.
The Dodecanese (+37.6%), the Peloponnese (+23.6%), Attica (+22.9%) and mainland Greece (+19.3%) are strong, and the Ionian islands are also up 4.6%to direct -hotel resort levels. In contrast, the Cyclades decreased 11.4%, with Santorini reservations reduced by 20.2%, for Mykonos by -12.1%and for Naxos by -6.3%.
With the exception of these three islands and Cephalonia (-4.4%), all other individual destinations in the country are moving upward, with highly profitable those who invest in the authenticity and Easter nature of their experiences. Patras is the most dynamic, with the rise of direct hotel reservations reaching 80.2%, proving that the city is being re -placed on the tourist map of Greece.
At the same time, Kos and Rhodes rose 38.3% and 37.6% respectively, verifying the positive trend recorded in the Dodecanese, while Corfu, with an increase of 32.8%, remains firmly in the top Easter holiday destinations in Greece, thanks to unique local customs. In the Cyclades, despite the downward trend of demand, Paros managed to rise 28.1%, balancing between its traditional and cosmopolitan character. Correspondingly, destinations such as Pelion (+31.43%), Parga (+30.7%), Litochoro (26.67%) and Monemvasia (+23.1%), combine natural beauty with intense local character.
Two -digit increases are also recorded in Rethymnon (+19.66%) and Thassos (+19.1%), but also in the country’s major urban centers: the increase in direct bookings in Athens hotels is 12.9%and Thessaloniki to 19.3%. Milder increases in demand are recorded for Porto Heli (+9.8%), Spetses (+8.1%), Ios (+7.25%), Arachova (+6.6%) and Metsovo (+6.2%).
But what are the most dynamic international markets that feed the increase in direct reservations of Greek hotels? The Israeli market is the most impressive rise, which is more than twice as compared to Easter 2024 for Greek hotels and is +178.5%. Factors favoring this trend are the increased air connectivity between the two countries and the perception of our country as a safe holiday destination.
This Easter, Greek hotels are also gaining demand from markets such as Romania ( +36.2%), which is evolving into a rising road tourism market for northern Greece, Italy with 26.1%increase, Spain with +22.8%and the Netherlands with +22.1%. Increased booking wave also comes from Austria and the United Kingdom (+16.1% and 16.7% respectively), while the significant US market is up 10.1% compared to Easter 2024, with auxiliary factor in direct flights with Athens.
Continuing with the basic markets for Greek tourism, a milder increase is observed in direct hotel bookings from France (+8.3%) and Germany (+5.6%). At the same time, increases are observed in Belgium reservations (+10%) and Switzerland (+9%), followed by distant markets such as Canada (+6.5%) and Australia (+5%).
On the other hand, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and the countries of Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, are the United Arab Emirates, from which there are major reservation losses compared to Easter 2024, indicative of a possible redirection of demand or internal difficulties in these markets. Specifically, the largest decline is recorded by Brazil (-27.4%) and followed by Bulgaria (-22.7%), United Arab Emirates (-15.8%), Finland (-12.6%), Hungary (-10.3%), Ireland (-9.3%) and Norway (-4.3%).
Nelios CEO, Dimitris Serifis, said: “It is a very positive year for Easter, as expected, due to the calendar juncture of the Orthodox and Catholic Easter, which traditionally greatly enhances demand. But what impresses us in particular is the huge geographical dispersion of bookings coming from 112 different countries, indicative of the global penetration of the Greek tourism product. This dynamic shows that Greece has further strengthened its position on the international tourist map, attracting visitors from every corner of the globe even in times when traditionally did not show strong demand it is worth noting that the fall of bookings by the UAE is largely due to the recent interruption of the Daily Air.
