Crete tourist guide

Crete and Rhodes especially popular for early bookings

2025-03-10 19:56:28

The ITB Berlin International Travel Fair is a kind of barometer of the upcoming tourist season. The information that is coming in clearly shows that in 2025 Greece will still maintain its high position among the most popular tourist destinations for Europeans. Although the data on already made reservations differ depending on the market and destinations, the average values indicate that early bookings in the entire country are 8% higher compared to last year. It should be noted, however, that several tourist destinations stand out above the average, and these favorites include Crete.

A Greek beach overlooking the blue sea is synonymous with a successful holiday for an increasing number of tourists.

Rhodes and Crete in the lead

The top destinations this year include the islands of Crete, Rhodes, Zakynthos, Corfu and Kos. The best result was achieved by Rhodes, which recorded an increase in early bookings of 15% compared to last year. Crete came in second, with 10% more bookings. The other islands mentioned above have single-digit increases.

In total, the Ionian Islands, of which the most popular tourist destinations are Kefalonia, Corfu, Zakynthos and Lefkada, are recording an increase in bookings of 20%.

Chalkidiki is seeing a 5-7% drop in bookings. Grigoris Tasios, president of the Chalkidiki Hoteliers Association, pointed out that “intense competition and uncertainty among European travelers make the next two months crucial to reversing the trend.”

Bookings on Mykonos, one of the most popular islands in Greece, which has been losing money in recent years, are generally at the same level as last year.

The Case of Santorini

Santorini is currently trying to make up for the losses caused by the intense seismic activity. In January, bookings in Santorini were up 6%, but in February the increase in bookings stopped. Currently, Santorini has a 20% decrease in bookings compared to the same period last year. However, as indicated by factors monitoring the flow of bookings on the island, the pace of early bookings is gradually returning to normal, although it has not yet been able to compensate for the damage incurred during the peak amplitude of the quakes.

Who chooses Greece?

The markets that see Greece as a dream destination are primarily Germany and the UK. Poland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden have also seen an increase in advance bookings.

Romania's accession to the Schengen area opens up new prospects for Greece. In this case, the northern regions of mainland Greece are mentioned, in particular the Chalkidiki peninsula. This gives hope that despite the current weaker result, this place will still make up for the losses in reservations.

Easter Tourism

In addition to the surge in summer bookings, Greece is also in the top five most popular Easter destinations, a trend that solidifies its position as a year-round destination.

The most popular travel destinations during Easter, which this year falls at the same time (April 20) for both Orthodox and Catholics, are: Türkiye, Egypt, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and Greece.

First or last?

Data collected by the largest European tour operators show that a trend that was clearly visible even before the pandemic and is returning this year with increased force is the increase in so-called "early bookings" while reducing so-called last-minute bookings.

This change in holiday travel planning is attributed to the fact that more and more travelers are deciding to make reservations in advance to take advantage of the significant discounts that accompany early bookings. An additional advantage is that first-minute discounts at least partially offset the price increase, which is estimated at 3-4% compared to the previous season. For some tourists, an important argument when choosing early bookings is also the large availability of places in popular destinations.

Gosia,  2025-03-10 19:56:28

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