Greece recorded a record 32.7 million foreign tourists in 2023, according to provisional figures published Wednesday by the Bank of Greece, despite a prolonged heatwave and devastating fires during the summer. Last year, the number of foreign tourist arrivals increased by 17.6% compared to 2022 and it exceeds the previous record of 31.3 million in 2019, the year of the previous record, after a summer of 2023 marked by fires which killed at least 26 people and led to the evacuation of thousands of people, including many tourists, particularly on the island of Rhodes (southeast).
The 2020 and 2021 tourist seasons in this Mediterranean country renowned for its islands and ancient sites including the Acropolis of Athens had been strongly affected by travel restrictions imposed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. While the tourism industry constitutes one of the main drivers of the Greek economy, the 2023 season was marked by devastating fires linked to one of the longest heatwaves that Greece has experienced.
These fires, fueled by temperatures locally exceeding 46°C, had notably ravaged key tourist destinations, such as the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese archipelago in the Aegean Sea and Corfu, in the Ionian Sea (north-west). In July, tens of thousands of people, including many tourists, had to be evacuated on these two islands as the flames advanced. In August, violent fires again affected the country, particularly in the northeast of the country, in the region bordering Turkey, Evros (northeast).
Visitor arrivals from European Union member countries increased by 15.6% to 19.6 million, particularly from France (4.2% to 1.8 million) and Germany (9 .5% to 4.7 million). The number of tourists from the United Kingdom increased by 2.4% to 4.6 million while tourists from the United States saw their number increase by 29.2% year-on-year to 1. 4 million.
In a country where tourist activity represents around a quarter of GDP, some denounce the scourge of “overtourism” on certain islands and the exorbitant prices on others such as Mykonos and Santorini, in the Cyclades in the Aegean. Greek authorities also announced measures to control the number of people visiting the Acropolis site with the Parthenon at its peak as huge queues formed over the summer. The Bank of Greece’s final figures for 2023 are due to be published in April.
