INSETE: Greece in the top 5 destinations abroad for Germans, Britons and French in 2025

Greece is ranked among the top 5 destinations for Germans, Britons, and French for their holidays abroad in the next 12 months. This is highlighted by the latest study by the Institute of the Association of Hellenic Tourism Enterprises (INSETE) entitled: “The Greece brand: How attractive is Greece as a tourist destination? Comparison with competing Mediterranean destinations”.

It is noted that the first part of the study examines the markets of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Spain.

It is found that:

Greece remains, as last year, in the same ranking of preferred destinations for Germans and French, in 3rd and 4th place respectively, while in the case of the British, it is also among the top 5, and specifically in 5th place, having however fallen by two places. These three countries, according to official data from the Bank of Greece, contributed 42% of total receipts from inbound tourism to Greece in 2023.
The Spanish, who have a smaller share of arrivals and receipts in Greek tourism, rank our country in 7th place among preferred destinations for the next 12 months, which is logical, since Spain's tourism product has much in common with that of Greece.
As more or less expected, the finding that the two most popular destinations in all three major inbound tourism markets for our country are the duo of Spain and Italy, with the ranking changing depending on the market, while for the Spanish the two most popular destinations are Italy and France.
The study is based on a survey conducted by the GWI company in two waves in 2024 and in two waves in 2023 with the main topic being visitor preferences regarding potential destinations in the next 12 months, therefore including the summer months which are of key importance for Greek tourism.

Top 5 destinations by market

In more detail by market, the top 5 countries that are considering visiting, the markets under study, abroad in the next 12 months, are:

For Germans: Italy (29.1%), Spain (28.5%), Greece (20.3%), Austria (18.4%), France (17.4%). It should be noted that Italy, France and Austria border Germany and therefore benefit from easy road access.
For French: Spain (31.4%), Italy (21.6%), Portugal (16.6%), Greece (12.9%), UK (11.8%). It should be noted that Italy and Spain border France and therefore benefit from easy road access.
For the UK: Spain (34.1%), Italy (22.2%), France (20.0%), USA (19.8%), Greece (19%).
For Spaniards: Italy (29.7%), France (23.8%), Portugal (20.6%), UK (15.0%), USA (11.8%). It should be noted that Portugal and France border Spain and therefore benefit from easy road access.
The previous finding of INSETE (based on the study Using Big Data to analyze loyalty to & competing destinations) that Greece competes with strong mature destinations is therefore confirmed. In addition, an interesting comparative element regarding the position of Greece and the other competing markets in the Mediterranean is the fact that for the markets of France Spain, Croatia and Turkey are outside the top 10. For the German market, Croatia is in 6th place and Turkey in 9th place while for the British market, Turkey is in 8th place and Croatia is out of the top 10.

In individual markets, and compared to 2023, Portugal and Croatia rose by one place for the German market in 2024. On the contrary, Croatia fell by one place for the French market, while Turkey rose by two places. For the UK market, Greece fell by two places compared to 2023, while Croatia rose by two places. For the Spanish market, Croatia rose by one place, while Turkey fell by 8 places.

Mr. Elias Kikilias, General Director of INSETE, stated: “Despite intense competitive pressures, our country maintains a strong position in travelers’ preferences, proving that our tourism product remains attractive and resilient. By strengthening sustainability, maintaining the identity of destinations, and diversifying our tourism product in the light of a long-term strategy, we can further expand our share in international markets, strengthening the value of the “Greece” brand.”

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