Heraklion and Rhodes among the “stars” of European tourism this summer

A large increase in international air arrivals – from Europe and distant markets – in Heraklion and Rhodes is shown by the ForwardKeys European Summer Travel Outlook 2025 survey, for the summer of 2025, based on how demand is shaping up this year, compared to the levels of the summer of 2024.

The two Greek destinations, with increases of 13% and 12% respectively, are in the top five of European destinations showing the largest increase in international air arrivals according to ForwardKeys data for the period June – August 2025, compared to the corresponding period last year, with Heraklion being the third most rising destination and Rhodes the fifth at a European level.

The largest increase is recorded in Larnaca (+17%), followed by Catania (+13%), while the top five is completed by Palma (+12%).

This picture is also confirmed by the increase in flights from the two major markets of the UK and Germany, compared to 2024. According to the latest data from aviation data company Cirium for the entire year, Rhodes (+15%) and Heraklion (+13.5%) record the largest annual increase in the number of flights from the UK, with the total number of flights this year amounting to 5,086 for Rhodes and 3,891 for Heraklion. Correspondingly, the annual increase from Germany ranges from +5% for Heraklion (6,538 flights in 2025) and +3.6% for Rhodes (3,066 flights).

The seat planning for the summer season (March - October) of 2025 for the two destinations shows a similar trend: According to INSETE's airdata tracker, the number of airline seats during this period from all foreign markets for Heraklion shows an increase of 3.3% compared to 2024 and stands at almost 3.9 million compared to 3.76 million last year. For Rhodes, the increase ranges at +2.7%, with the total number of seats amounting to 2.96 million compared to 2.88 million last year.

According to ForwardKeys' research at the European level, Southern Europe records the largest increase in offered airline seat capacity this summer (+7%) compared to the corresponding period last year, Central/Eastern Europe records an increase of 6%, and Northern and Western Europe +4%. Overall, Europe recorded a 5% increase, followed by Asia-Pacific (+10%), the Americas (+9%), and the Middle East and Africa (+4%).

At the same time, demand for Europe from the Chinese market is “rising”. In the first quarter of 2025, the Chinese market turned towards luxury travel, with Economy Premium bookings increasing by 52%, Business Class by +25%, and First Class by +20% compared to last year. This trend is in line with the increase in Chinese arrivals recorded by ForwardKeys during the first quarter of the year in selected European destinations, of which the most “dynamic” are Belgium (+339%), Austria (+112%), Spain (+59%), France (+44%) and Switzerland (+28%).

Millennials, a generation that chooses vacations based on lifestyle, culture, and affordability, are also driving the growth in demand for travel within Europe. Spain is their destination of choice, with visitors aged 26-45 accounting for 44% of international bookings this summer.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report