Greek hotels have posted a healthy growth in earnings in the first five months of the year. But, this growth is not due to the number of bookings, which are nearly flat, but to higher prices.
Tourism is far from stagnant. The number of visitors in the first five months of 2026 is 20.9% higher than during the same period in 2025 and tourism earnings have risen 25.8%, Bank of Greece data shows. But overnight stays at hotels and organized campsites have risen just 1.1% during the same period.
The disparity is due to two things: Visitors, especially from neighboring countries, increasingly stay with friends and relatives and, more importantly, short-term rentals continue to expand, despite government efforts to regulate expansion. Hotels are not suffering – earnings have increased 10.1% – but people looking for longer-term rentals are.
