Tourism: 4 Greek islands capture Americans’ 2025 vacation interest

Four Greek islands are among the 10 international destinations with the greatest potential for American travel in the summer of 2025, according to a survey by vacation rental platform HomeToGo.

The survey (conducted from October 7, 2024 to January 7, 2025, for the travel period from June 1 to September 1, 2025, among a sample of 800 respondents from the United States) showed that the Greek destinations with the most searches and the greatest potential for this season are Crete (+390%), Naxos (+327%), Lefkada (189%) and Zakynthos (+175%).

2025 marks a year of change in the travel habits of Americans, who are showing different activities in their searches, changing the length of their vacations, and shaping their travel group differently.

Specifically, for this summer, HomeToGo has identified the following trends...

- Searches by travelers from the US have increased by +11% year-on-year, with international travel intent now representing 35% of all searches (+9% year-on-year).

-Americans are choosing longer getaways, with the average vacation length increasing by 9% year-on-year, to 10 days, signaling their growing desire to enjoy their summer vacation.

-Traveling in larger groups, with the average group size increasing slightly by 1% year-on-year to 5 guests per booking.

Meanwhile, 2 emerging trends for American travel in summer 2025 emerged, with European interest...

1. European getaways

Europe continues to capture the attention of Americans, as it is home to all ten of the most searched countries for 2025, as well as 80% of the ten most searched destinations for summer 2025. London emerges as the most sought-after destination, followed by Sardinia and Bali—the latter standing out as one of only two non-European entries on the list.

Europe also accounts for 6 of the 10 emerging countries and 100% of the top 10 trends for international destinations. Alicante (+552% search growth year-over-year), Crete (+390% year-over-year) ,and Isla de Lanzarote (+384% year-over-year) lead the way, underscoring the growing demand for scenic getaways in Europe’s coastal and island destinations.

2. Americans are discovering Europeans’ favorite destinations

This new trend is pushing Americans to explore Europe like the locals, as they increasingly choose destinations that Europeans love over hotspots that are traditionally popular with American tourists.

Mallorca and Menorca in Spain (+333% year-over-year)—now ranked as the fourth most searched destinations based on searches and trends, respectively—are favorite destinations for Europeans, but are often overshadowed for Americans by Ibiza. Similarly, Italy’s Lake Garda, ranked ninth, is emerging as an alternative to the popular Lake Como.

On the trend list, lesser-known Greek islands, as noted, are making waves (Naxos, Lefkada, Zakynthos), and previously popular destinations such as Mykonos and Santorini are not included.

Meanwhile, interest in Brittany, France (+272% year-on-year) is growing and reaching the levels of the glamorous French Riviera.

Furthermore, Americans seem to be more familiar with artificial intelligence tools and are integrating them into their vacation planning. HomeToGo’s survey shows that over half of Americans (53%) said they would definitely (26.6%) or probably (23.4%) use artificial intelligence in their travel planning for 2025.

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