DERTOUR | Strong demand for Greece during 2025: The top destinations

The Greek summer of 2025 starts with a strong lead, especially in the country's traditional popular tourist destinations, from German-speaking markets, Eastern Europe, and the Scandinavian countries, as evidenced by the demand levels recorded so far by the DERTOUR group for Greece.

According to statements by the CEO and general manager of DTS Incoming Hellas, member of the DERTOUR group, and responsible for all of Greece, Mr. Yannis Papadakis in Tornos News, in the context of the international tourism exhibition ITB in Berlin, Greece is recording a fairly strong increase in reservations compared to last year, with fluctuations by destination.

As Mr. Papadakis mentioned, the destinations that are moving very well are Crete, Rhodes, Kos, and Corfu. The positive demand comes from all markets, from Central Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary), and from the Scandinavian countries through Apollo with a good positive sign.

The top destinations in Greece

A strong positive sign is recorded by traditionally strong destinations, such as Crete (Chania and Heraklion), Rhodes, Kos, Corfu, and Zakynthos.

In particular, in Crete the increase in bookings is around 12%; in Rhodes, it is around 17%; in Kos, there is a strong increase of 27%; in Corfu, it is around 10-15% and in Santorini, despite the challenges, there is a 4% increase. Demand for Halkidiki remains stable compared to last year.

Mr. Papadakis notes that, like every year after April, this upward trend usually slows down as the discounts applicable for the pre-booking period cease and last-minute and offer bookings begin.

“This year too, all-inclusive continues to attract the highest demand, especially in four and five star hotels, and we are satisfied as the Sentido, Kalimera, Ananea and all the hotel units under our umbrella are also performing very well”, said the CEO of DTS Incoming Hellas.

The combination of hotel and flight is very popular among Germans, which explains why 40% of Germans say that the combination of flight and hotel represents a classic holiday package, according to a survey conducted in Germany by DERTOUR.

75% of Germans say that they have booked a package holiday at least once in the past and 25% that they have booked more than 5 package holidays.

How do Germans book in 2025

But what is the behavior of Germans when booking package holidays this year? Their travel booking habits for 2025 are as follows...

• When it comes to planning a holiday, low prices and discounts are at the top of the priority list for 78.6% of respondents, just ahead of flexible cancellation terms (73.1%).
• However, only 53% often or always book with free cancellation or rebooking.
• Insolvency protection or travel insurance are also important to many (66.7%) – but in practice, more than one in three travel without them (36.4%).
• Reviews from other travellers (62.3%) or environmental friendliness (45.5%) seem to be less important parameters.

In addition, those aged 65 to 99 place emphasis on different parameters...

• Price is the third most important criterion, after flexibility (76.1%) and travel insurance (72.8%).
• Sustainability also plays a bigger role for this age group compared to others, at 52.2%.
• Among those aged 16 to 34, only 40% rate environmental friendliness as an important or very important factor when choosing a holiday, down 10%.
• Also, for those aged 25-34, the experiences and opinions of other travellers play a central role in their choice.

Although 36% said they had not experienced any problems while travelling in the past, hidden costs (29.7%) and delays or cancellations on arrival and departure (28.7%) are the most common challenges. This is followed by a lack of cancellation options (15.3%) and a lack of cancellation protection from the provider (14.4%). 14.2% of respondents believe that they are not sufficiently informed about the accommodation, the holiday destination, and the corresponding culture.

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