Greece’s Island Regions Among Top EU Destinations for Foreign Tourists in 2023, Eurostat Report

In 2023, international tourism across the EU fully rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, with foreign visitors flocking to popular destinations. While Spain and Croatia claimed the top spots, Greece’s island regions played a significant role in attracting tourists from abroad.

The top three EU regions with the highest number of nights spent by foreign tourists were Spain’s Canarias (83.2 million) and Illes Balears (61.7 million), followed by Croatia’s coastal region, Jadranska Hrvatska (80.8 million). Together, these three areas accounted for 16.4% of all nights spent by foreign tourists in the EU.

Other prominent regions in the top 10 included Spain’s Cataluña and Andalucia, the Greek island of Crete, France’s capital region of Ile-de-France, Veneto in Italy, and Tirol in Austria. Collectively, these ten regions represented over one-third (37.6%) of foreign tourist nights across the EU in 2023.

Greece stood out in particular for its heavy reliance on foreign visitors. In seven popular holiday regions, foreign tourists accounted for more than 90% of nights spent in accommodations. The Greek islands of Crete (94.6%), Ionian Islands (93.6%), and Southern Aegean (92.0%) ranked among these, alongside Malta, Jadranska Hrvatska, Cyprus, and Tirol.

By contrast, regions more dependent on domestic tourism were predominantly in France. The three EU regions with the most nights spent by domestic tourists were France’s Ile-de-France (39.7 million), Rhône-Alpes (38.7 million), and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (37.8 million). France also had four additional regions – Languedoc-Roussillon, Aquitaine, Pays de la Loire, and Bretagne – where domestic tourists spent over 20 million nights.

(Source: Eurostat)

Source: GCT–by KOWALENKO CHARLIE