The number of tourists in Greece has hit a record high since the start of the year despite the fires and heatwave that hit the country over the summer, according to statistics published on Monday.
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From January to the end of August, 22.65 million travelers visited the Mediterranean country known for its Aegean islands and rich ancient sites including the Acropolis of Athens, an increase of 18.4% compared to 2022, Greece’s central bank announced .
This number of visitors in the first nine months of the year exceeds the absolute record set in 2019 for the same period (21.84 million travelers).
The 2020 and 2021 tourist seasons were heavily affected by the travel restrictions to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
While the tourism industry is the driving force of the Greek economy, the 2023 season was marked by devastating fires linked to one of the longest heatwaves in Greece.
These fires, fueled by local temperatures exceeding 46°C, had particularly devastated major tourist destinations such as the island of Rhodes in the Dodecanese archipelago in the Aegean Sea (southeast) and Corfu in the Ionian Sea (northwest). .
In July, tens of thousands of people, including many tourists, had to be evacuated on these two islands due to the advancing flames.
In August, violent fires broke out again in the country.
In the month of August alone, the traditional “peak” of the tourist season on the Mediterranean edge, the number of foreign tourists reached 6.48 million, an increase of 10.4% compared to 2022.
In August 2019, however, there were slightly more at 6.76 million.
Tourists from the United States have been more numerous this year, with an increase of 50.3% in August compared to the same period in 2022.
In a country where tourist activity accounts for around a quarter of GDP, some decry the scourge of “overtourism” on certain islands and the exorbitant prices on others such as Mykonos and Santorini in the Cyclades.
Over the summer, a “beach towel movement” emerged, a citizens’ initiative that denounced the confiscation of numerous beaches where parasols and deck chairs were rented by the day, sometimes at very high prices.