Record Number of German Tourists Expected this Summer in Greece

Greece remains a highly favored destination for German tourists, as representatives of travel agencies and industry stakeholders told the state-run AMNA news agency, that they were expecting record arrivals from Germany in 2024.

Aage Dünhaupt, communications director of TUI’s Central Region, said the upcoming summer would be the best for TUI, the world’s largest tourism and travel company in the world.

Bookings are already witnessing a double-digit increase from last year, and Crete, a favorite destination for Germans, ranks third in demand after Mallorca and Antalya.

The TUI executive emphasized that the forest fires that struck Rhodes last year had not affected the strong demand for the island. This was also highlighted by the fact that the German travel giant selected Rhodes hotels as the best in the world at this year’s TUI Global Hotel Awards, Lindos Blue Luxury Hotel & Suites in Vlycha, Lindos, and TUI Blue Atlantica Imperial in Kolymbia.

According to GfK, the largest German market research company, in 2024, 79% of Germans (+2 from 2023) expressed their intentions to take summer vacations, while 25% plan to spend “significantly more” on their vacations this year than in 2023.

GfK’s survey underlines that bookings made at least three to four months in advance were higher than ever.

Travelers who had already booked their summer vacations were 24% more than last year. “Germans want to travel, and they are traveling,” said Norbert Fiebig, president of the German Travel Association (DRV), at the opening of the International Tourism Fair ITB, which ended yesterday in Berlin.

Similarly, Michael Kunkel, head of the Greece department for DERTOUR and ITS companies, said “We continue to have great demand for Greece for the summer of 2024, and Rhodes is no exception. It is always ranked among the top Greek travel destinations.”

Overall, according to Fiebig of DRV, the share of sales in the eastern Mediterranean will increase from 36% in 2019 to 44% this year.

“Despite the extreme weather phenomena last year, there is still great demand for both Greece and Turkey,” he commented.

In the current overall ranking, the top summer vacation destination for Germans is currently Turkey, followed by Spain. Greece ranks third, and the top five destinations are topped off by Egypt and Italy.