Direct online hotel bookings in Greece are soaring for 2026, according to pre-booking data compiled by Nelios hotel digital marketing agency through Oct. The company reports a 33% jump in early reservations and a nearly 20% rise in revenue compared with the same point in the 2024 cycle, underscoring strong momentum from individual travelers.
Crete leads the island boom, posting a dramatic increase of 118% in bookings and 165% in revenue. The Ionian Islands follow with gains of 58% and 130% respectively. Kos records the most striking growth nationwide—up 170% in reservations—while Paros also posts triple-digit expansion. Corfu is off to a strong start too, with bookings up 69% and revenue more than doubling.
Cycladic performance is uneven: Paros stands out, but Mykonos and Santorini show declines in revenue, and Santorini also sees a slight drop in bookings. Zakynthos and Rhodes soften as well, a trend attributed partly to shorter booking windows in mature destinations.
Urban centers are also gaining ground. Thessaloniki posts a 68% rise in bookings and Athens follows with a 24% increase. On the mainland, Parga jumps nearly 84%, while the Peloponnese reports steady growth.
Holiday travel for winter 2025 is tracking higher as well, with national bookings up 19% and revenue up 33%. Arachova leads the seasonal surge with a steep rise in demand, followed by Metsovo. Athens and Thessaloniki also show healthy holiday increases, while the Peloponnese records higher revenue despite fewer bookings.
Nelios CEO Dimitris Serifis notes that travelers are increasingly price-sensitive and are turning to early-booking deals to secure lower rates—a trend driving the strong early demand for 2026. Digital Business Optimization Expert Emmanouela Kouka adds that the pattern mirrors the 2025 season, when early interest was followed by a lull and then a wave of last-minute bookings, once again highlighting the market’s heightened sensitivity to pricing.
Source: tovima.com
