American Tourism: Wave of searches and flights for travel to Athens in Spring

Athens is developing double-digit momentum among the American public as a Spring Break destination, with American travelers scouting for deals, accommodation prices, and flights to the Greek capital at the beginning of the season.

According to Expedia’s latest report, “Spring Travel Outlook,” Athens is among the 10 international destinations that are recording the largest increase in accommodation searches for the Spring period, an increase of +25% compared to last year.

The report notes that Europe, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea are favorite destinations for Americans this Spring as the dollar is stronger than the euro, with the favorable exchange rate reducing their spending on local goods and services.

The above data was collected until January 22, 2025, and concerns the travel period from March 1 to May 22, 2025.

The renewed interest of Americans in early Spring travel to Athens is also reflected in the scheduling of airline seats - which is formed based on demand -, according to the latest data from INSETE's Airdata tracker.

These figures, last updated on February 4, 2025, show that in March 2025, a total of 25,887 airline seats have been scheduled from the US to Greece, an increase of 40.2% from March 2024.

In addition, United Airlines plans to start a seasonal connection between New York (Newark) and Athens on March 6, 2025, with daily flights, while Delta Air Lines' Atlanta - Athens connection will start on March 29.

Which flights start in March from the US

Increased routes to Greece - which concern Athens - from the US also show data from aviation statistics company Cirium for March. A total of 5 routes from 4 airlines will start in March 2025 to Athens, with the total number of flights offered reaching 90 compared to 57 in March 2024.

In particular, in March 2025, Emirates will offer 31 flights on the route from New York (Newark), while United Airlines will also start the same route with 27 flights. Delta Airlines will offer 23 flights from New York (JFK) starting in that month, and American, Delta, and United will operate 3 flights on the routes from Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Washington respectively.

At the same time, the willingness of Americans to travel in the near future also appears to be strengthened. According to a Longwoods survey conducted in early January, the number of American travelers who say inflation will significantly affect their upcoming travel plans has declined since November, with 50% saying inflation, personal finances, travel and airfare costs will significantly affect their travel plans in the next six months. However, 90% of Americans said they have vacation plans planned in the next six months.

Popular Spring Travel Destinations

Expedia data shows that destinations gaining significant interest from the US for Spring, in accommodation searches, are also Istanbul (+45%), Paris (+30%), but also Rio de Janeiro (+85%), Curacao (+60%), Tokyo (+50%), Osaka (+50%), Sint Maarten (+35%), Bangkok (+30%) and Seoul (+25%).

Tokyo and Osaka continue to be popular destinations as Americans look to experience Japan's cherry blossom season, which begins in late March, while Rio de Janeiro, the top search destination, is likely attracting interest due to a high-profile concert event taking place on Copacabana Beach in May and the city's annual Carnival festival in early March.

Meanwhile, the top international destinations for spring, based on flight searches, are Cancun, London, Punta Cana, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Mexico City, Dublin and San Jose del Cabo.

When is (Spring) Travel Cheapest for Americans

However, Expedia says that the first week of March and the last week of April are the best times for Americans to travel, as they save nearly $115 compared to peak dates (the last two Saturdays of March, March 22 and 29, Easter weekend, April 18-20, and Mother's Day weekend, May 9-11).

The platform points out that the best time to book Spring Break getaways is 3 weeks to a month before the departure date.

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