Tourism in Greece traces its roots to ancient times. Cultural exchange took place between the Greek colonies of Magna Graeca and the young Roman Republic before Rome's rise to dominance of the Western Mediterranean. When Greece was annexed by the Roman Empire centuries later, the cultural exchange that started between the two civilizations triggered as a result a large number of ancient Roman tourists visiting the famous centers of Greek philosophy and science, such as Athens, Corinth and Thebes, partly because Greece had become a province of the Roman Empire and Greeks were granted Roman citizenship.
Tourism in modern-day Greece started to flourish in the 1960s and 1970s, in what became known as mass tourism.[5] During that time, large-scale construction projects for hotels and other such facilities were undertaken, and the country saw an increase in international tourists over the years.[5] International events such as the 2004 Summer Olympic Games and the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, both held in Athens, greatly helped to boost tourism in the country, while large-scale nationally funded cultural infrastructure such as the New Acropolis Museum also contributed to the flow of tourists in the country. Thessaloniki was the European Youth Capital in 2014.
Greece has a Mediterranean climate along its coasts and islands. Once inland, many areas and cities experience a continental climate.[6]
Summers are usually hot and dry, while winters are generally mild and wet. Northern Greece can experience cold winters, while Southern Greece and the islands experience considerably milder winters.[7]
Infrastructure
As a developed country highly dependent on tourism, Greece offers a wide variety of tourist facilities.[8] Tourism infrastructure in Greece has been greatly improved since the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and continues to expand with a number of important projects particularly in areas of less mass-tourism.[9]
According to the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels in 2016, the number of hotels in Greece was by classification (bedplaces):[11]
Star rating
Number
Beds
5 star
444
137,210
4 star
1,412
203,203
3 star
2,472
185,560
2 star
3,990
210,365
1 star
1,412
52,215
Total
9,730
788,553
Marinas
Greece has 51 marinas and 14,661 mooring places that provide such services as berths, fuel, water and electricity, telephony, and repairs.
Some of the most developed and busiest marinas in Greece are just a few kilometres from the centre of Athens. The marinas of Alimos and Flisvos, on the south coast of Athens, have an aggregated capacity of more than 1,800 vessels.
Spas and thermal springs
Greece has 752 thermal springs. Many have been classified as therapeutic by the National Institute for Geographical and Mineral Research. Several of them were known and exploited already since antiquity. Thermal or curative tourism was, after all, one of the earliest forms of tourism in the ancient world. In 1983 was founded the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Thermal Springs Some of these ancient "spa resorts" were situated in Aidipsos, known from the time of Aristotle,[12] Loutraki, mentioned by Xenophon,[13] Traianoupoli , founded by the emperor Trajan in the 2nd century A.D., whereas some others are attested in the Byzantine period, such as the Thermal baths of Langadas . In the late 19th and the beginning of the 20th century these hot springs were surrounded by cosmopolitan facilities, namely hotels and restaurants, whereas several prominent members of the society of both the Modern Greek State and the Ottoman State (for regions still incorporated in it) invested in touristic infrastructure and private estates.[14] Thermal tourism became particularly widespread in the 1960s and 1970s, whereas in the 1980s it was widely supported by a social tourism program, which subsidized large part of the expenses for the elderly users of the facilities. Nowadays, however, there is an urgent need to refurbish, restore and elevate these spas to modern standards and create an international clientele. Visitors, however, can already find high-standard touristic facilities in Pozar , in Aidipsos and in Kamena Vourla, in Loutraki close to Corinth as well as at Kaiafas, on the western shores of the Peloponnese . A detailed List of spa towns in Greece can give an insight in the inexorable richness of thermal springs of the country.
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Several kinds of museums are located in the Hellenic Republic. Generally speaking, every major city and town in Greece has its own Archaeological Museum, which houses findings from the nearby area. However, most of them can be found in the big cities like Athens, where the famous New Acropolis Museum and the National Archaeological Museum are located. Furthermore, there is a vast number of galleries like the National Gallery (Athens). There are many museums in Thessaloniki too, like the Byzantine Museum. Overall, there are approximately 150 museums all over the country which are easily accessible by tourists.
In the adjacent area of Attica are the Marathon tumuli, burying mounds in Marathon that house the ashes of the Athenian and Plataean hoplites that were killed in the homonymous battle. Findings from the area and from the battle of Marathon are preserved in the Archaeological Museum of Marathon nearby. In western Attica is Eleusis, where, from as early as 1700 BC up to the 4th century AD, it was the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries, or the Mysteries of Demeter and Kore. At the eastern tip of Attica is Sounion, with the ruins of the Temple of Poseidon.
Central Greece is the location of Thebes, an ancient city that once rivalled Athens, and featured in Greek myth. Delphi has a distinguished ancient theatre, the site of the Oracle. Thermopylae is primarily known for the battle that took place there in 480 BC, in which an outnumbered Greek force probably of seven thousand (including the famous 300 Spartans) held off a substantially larger force of Persians estimated in the range 70,000-300,000 under Xerxes.
The Peloponnese peninsula, dominating the south of the mainland, has a wide variety of archaeological sites. Beginning at the north end, there is Ancient Corinth, near the modern town of the same name. In the northeast of the peninsula are Epidaurus, with its ancient theatre, now restored; Argos, with several ancient ruins, including the Heraion; and Nemea, where, in Greek mythology, Heracles overcame the Nemean Lion of the Lady Hera, and during Antiquity the Nemean Games were played. Most important of all, however, is Mycenae, which, in the second millennium BC, was one of the major centres of Greek civilization, a military stronghold which dominated much of southern Greece and parts of southwest Anatolia. The period of Greek history from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called Mycenaean in reference to Mycenae. Tiryns, also in the area, is a Mycenaean archaeological site.
In the centre of the Peloponnese are Sparta, where, near the modern town, are ancient ruins, the most important being the tomb of Leonidas; Tegea, an important religious center of ancient Greece, containing the Temple of Athena Alea; and Lycosura, said by Pausanias to be the oldest city in the world.
On the western side of the peninsula are Bassae, an archaeological site in the northeastern part of Messenia; Messene itself, the ruins of a large classical city-state refounded by Epaminondas in 369 BC; and, at Pylos, the ruins of the Palace of Nestor, which is the primary structure within a larger Late Helladic era settlement, likely once surrounded by a fortified wall. In the northwest is Olympia, with many ancient ruins, including the Temple of Zeus, the Temple of Hera, the Palaestra and the Leonidaion.
Archaeological sites in Epirus, the western part of mainland Greece, include Ambracia, the ruins of the ancient capital of Pyrrhus of Epirus; Dodona, whose shrine was regarded as the oldest Hellenic oracle, possibly dating to the second millennium BC according to Herodotus; Elaea, near the mouth of the Acheron; and Gitanae. Nicopolis or Actia Nicopolis, also in Epirus, was founded 31 BC by Octavian in memory of his victory over Antony and Cleopatra at Actium the previous year. In addition, there are the ruins believed by some to be those of the Necromanteion of Acheron, an ancient Greek temple of necromancy devoted to Hades and Persephone.
In the adjacent region of Macedonia, there is Dion, the sacred place of the Ancient Macedonians. Dion is the site of a large temple dedicated to Zeus, as well as a series of temples to Demeter and to Isis. Pella, also in the region, is the capital of Ancient Macedonia and birthplace of Alexander the Great and Philip II of Macedon.
Other archaeological sites in Macedonia include Olynthus in Chalcidice; Philippi, established by the king of Macedon, Philip II, on the site of the Thracian colony of Krinides or Crenides; Amphipolis, an ancient city once inhabited by the Edoni people; Leibethra, an ancient city close to Olympus where Orpheus was buried by the Muses; Stagira, ruins of the ancient city known as the birthplace of Aristotle; and Vergina, a World Heritage Site, the location of the Macedonian Royal Tombs and the ruins of the ancient Macedonian capital.
Thrace, of which only the western part belongs to modern Greece, has an archaeological site at Abdera. Didymoteicho is a historical town built near the Turkish border which has many Ancient Greek, Byzantine and Ottoman landmarks, including the ruins of the ancient city of Plotinopolis, the Byzantine fortifications built around the town, the Bayezid Mosque built in 1420 and the Silent Baths, the oldest hamam in Europe.
The Greek islands have numerous historical sites of their own. Chalcis is located on Euboea. Delos is an uninhabited island in the Cyclades famous for its numerous archaeological sites, including the Stoivadeion, the Temple of the Delians, the Terrace of the Lions and the House of the Dolphins. On Syros, near Piraeus, and linked to the latter by a ferry taking only 2.5 hours, is the neoclassical city of Hermoupolis, where two civilizations and two religions lived harmonically and peacefully together. It has beaches, classical theatre, casino, general hospital and many places to see.
Santorini, one of the Cyclades, is the location of Ancient Thera, an antique city on a ridge of the steep, 360m high Messavouno mountain, and of Akrotiri, a Minoan Bronze Age settlement.
The Samothrace temple complex is one of the principal Pan-Hellenic religious sanctuaries, located on the island of Samothrace.
Crete, the largest Greek island, has archaeological sites at Phaistos in the south, Zakros in the east, and most important of all, Knossos in the centre, which is famous for its ruined Minoan palace, with bull motifs.
Rhodes, one of the Dodecanese islands, is the location of the Acropolis of Rhodes, an acropolis dating from the Classical Greek period (5th–3rd century BC); the Acropolis of Lindos, a natural citadel which was fortified successively by the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Knights of St John and the Ottomans; and the ancient city of Kameiros. On the nearby island of Kos is the Asclepeion, the ruins of one of the greatest healing temples of the Ancient World and the place where Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine was trained. On Kastellorizo, the easternmost island of Greece, is the Lycian Tomb, a rock cut tomb built by the ancient Anatolian civilization of the Lycians.
Alternate tourism
LGBT tourism
Greece also is one of Europe's most popular LGBT tourist destinations, particularly its largest cities Athens and Thessaloniki and some of its islands such as Lesbos, Santorini, Skiathos and Mykonos.[15][16] The latter is a well-known Gay-friendly destination with many establishments catering for the LGBT community.[17][18][19] Skiathos and Mykonos are ranked among the most LGBT-friendly destinations in Europe and the world.[20][21]
Religious tourism
Greece is promoting religious tourism and pilgrimages to regions with a significant historical religious presence, such as the Christian monasteries in Meteora and Mount Athos, in cooperation with other countries.[22]
Medical tourism
Greece's temperate climate, highly-trained medical staff, and cutting-edge medical innovations also are contributing to the country's medical travel industry.[23]
Ecotourism
Greece has become in recent years a destination for ecotourism (especially hiking, canoeing, caving and climbing).[24] The main destinations for skiing in Greece are Arachova, Kalavryta, Karpenisi and Metsovo.[25] The Greek government is trying to bring more and more ecotourism to help and save the environment. So tourists and locals alike can have a clean environment.[26]
Conference tourism
Conference tourism, targeted at academic, business, or cultural markets, is a cornerstone of the Greek national tourism policy. As a result, the Greek government, with strong support from local authorities, has been offering lucrative cash grants, leasing and employment subsidies and tax allowances to establish new conference facilities and expand existing ones. In a recent report in Meeting and Incentive Travel, Greece was ranked eighth in the world in overnight stays for conferences. Figures from the Tourism Satellite Accounting Research, conducted by WTTC (World Travel & Tourism Council) project a worldwide increase in revenues in business travel to Greece from US$1.51 bn. in 2001 to US$2.69 bn. in 2011. In 1998, the figure stood at US$1.18 bn.
Four Seasons & Winter tourism
The government intends to promote four seasons & winter tourism in Greece, which could potentially increase international arrivals even further.[27]
Economic impact
At the same time, tourism consumption increased considerably since the turn of the millennium, from US$17.7 bn. in 2000 to US$29.6 bn. in 2004. The numbers of jobs directly or indirectly related to the tourism sector were 659,719 and represented 16.5% of the country's total employment for that year.
Revenues by countries
Greece earned €19,746,000,000 (around 11% of the total GDP) through its tourism industry, in 2023.[28]
The top four countries by revenue (in ‘000 euros) were:
In 2009, the country welcomed over 19.3 million tourists,[29] a major increase from the 17.7 million tourists the country welcomed in 2008.[30] The vast majority of tourists in the country are from within the European Union (12.7 million), followed by those from the Americas (0.56 million), Asia (0.52 million), Oceania (0.1 million) and Africa (0.06 million).[31] In the year 2007, more British people visited the country than any other nationality, numbering 2.61 million in total, making up 15% of the country's tourists for that year alone. Additionally, 2.3 million Germans, 1.8 million Albanians and 1.1 million Bulgarians visited the country that year.[31] In 2007, 92.8% of the total number of tourists in Greece were from countries in Europe.[31]
The most-visited region of Greece is that of Central Macedonia in northern Greece, near some of the most popular attractions in the country such as Halkidiki, Mount Olympus, Pella, the birthplace of Alexander the Great, and Greece's second-largest city, Thessaloniki.[30] In 2009, Central Macedonia welcomed 3.6 million tourists, or 18% of the total number of tourists who visited Greece that year,[30] followed by Attica (2.6 million) and the Peloponnese (1.8 million).[29]Northern Greece is the country's most-visited region, with 6.5 million tourists, while Central Greece comes second with 6.3 million.[29]
According to a survey conducted in China in 2015, Greece was voted as the Chinese people's number one choice as a tourist destination.[32] In November 2016, Austria, like China, announced that Greece was the favourite tourist destination for its citizens.[33] In line with these observations, Greece's former Minister of Tourism Aris Spiliotopoulos announced the opening of a Greek National Tourism Organization office in Shanghai by the end of 2010, and GNTO currently operates two tourism offices in China, one in Shanghai and one in Beijing.[34] It is estimated that throughout 2013 Greece welcomed over 17.93 million tourists, an increase of 10% compared to 2012. More than 22 million tourists visited Greece in 2014 and this number increased to 26 million visitors in 2015 and is projected to attract 28 million visitors in 2016,[35][36][37] making it one of the most visited countries in Europe and the world. Tourism in Greece will typically peak between May and September where approximately 75% of all tourist visits happen.[38]
Arrivals by countries
In 2023, Germany ranked as the leading tourist market for Greece with approximately 4.7 million tourists visiting the country. UK and Italy followed on the ranking with roughly 4.5 million and 1.8 million travelers in Greece, respectively.[28][39] Traditionally, Germany, UK, Italy, Bulgaria, France and USA have been the main tourist markets for Greece.[28][40][41][42][43] In 2023, the top 10 countries of arrival were:[28]
The advertisements displayed in the GNTO's web"site still focus on the triptych of sea, sun and sand. However, the tourism campaign is undergoing a significant change as city-breaks and conference tourism are promoted, along with cultural and wellness tourism. The impact of the new campaign will hopefully result in increased tourist revenues. The name of commercials is "You in Greece".
The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some 215,000 km2 (83,000 sq mi). In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn connects to the Black Sea, by the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, respectively. The Aegean Islands are located within the sea and some bound it on its southern periphery, including Crete and Rhodes. The sea reaches a maximum depth of 3,544 m (11,627 ft) to the east of Crete. The Thracian Sea and the Sea of Crete are main subdivisions of the Aegean Sea.
Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. A major coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica region and is the southernmost capital on the European mainland. With its urban area's population numbering over 3.6 million, it is the eighth largest urban area in the European Union. The Municipality of Athens, which constitutes a small administrative unit of the entire urban area, had a population of 643,452 (2021) within its official limits, and a land area of 38.96 km2 (15.04 sq mi).
An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, yet every Greek city had an acropolis of its own. Acropolises were used as religious centers and places of worship, forts, and places in which the royal and high-status resided. Acropolises became the nuclei of large cities of classical ancient times, and served as important centers of a community. Some well-known acropolises have become the centers of tourism in present-day, and, especially, the Acropolis of Athens has been a revolutionary center for the studies of ancient Greece since the Mycenaean period. Many of them have become a source of revenue for Greece, and represent some great technology during the period.
Lindos is an archaeological site, a fishing village and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 178.9 km2. It lies on the east coast of the island. It is about 40 km south of the city of Rhodes and its fine beaches make it a popular tourist and holiday destination. Lindos is situated in a large bay and faces the fishing village and small resort of Charaki.
Volos is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about 330 kilometres north of Athens and 220 kilometres south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia regional unit of the Thessaly Region. Volos is also the only outlet to the sea from Thessaly, the country's largest agricultural region. With a population of 85,803 (2021), the city is an important industrial centre, and its port provides a bridge between Europe and Asia.
Central Macedonia is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, consisting of the central part of the geographical and historical region of Macedonia. With a population of almost 1.8 million, it is the second most populous region in Greece after Attica.
Chalkidiki, also known as Chalcidice, is a peninsula and regional unit of Greece, part of the region of Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia in Northern Greece. The autonomous Mount Athos region constitutes the easternmost part of the peninsula, but not of the regional unit.
The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki is a museum in Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Greece. It holds and interprets artifacts from the Prehistoric, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods, mostly from the city of Thessaloniki but also from the region of Macedonia in general.
Skiathos is a small Greek island in the northwest Aegean Sea. Skiathos is the westernmost island in the Northern Sporades archipelago, east of the Pelion peninsula in Magnesia on the mainland, and west of the island of Skopelos.
Kea, also known as Tzia and in antiquity Keos, is a Greek island in the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Kea is part of the Kea-Kythnos regional unit.
Litochoro is a town and a former municipality in the southern part of the Pieria regional unit, Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been part of the Dio-Olympos municipality, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It is located at the base of Mount Olympus, on the western shore of the Thermaic Gulf. The first recorded mention of Litochoro is in an account of a visit by Saint Dionysius to Mount Olympus in the 16th century. The town is a popular destination for those wishing to climb Mount Olympus as almost all climbing routes begin to the southwest of the town. One of the most famous Litohorians was Christos Kakkalos, who made the first modern unaided ascent of Mount Olympus in 1913.
Koukounaries is a location and a beach in the southwest part of the Skiathos island in Greece. It is 16 km southwest of the main town on the island. Skiathos is part of the Sporades group of islands in the Northern Aegean Sea.
Macedonia is a geographic and former administrative region of Greece, in the southern Balkans. Macedonia is the largest and second-most-populous geographic region in Greece, with a population of 2.36 million. It is highly mountainous, with major urban centres such as Thessaloniki and Kavala being concentrated on its southern coastline. Together with Thrace, along with Thessaly and Epirus occasionally, it is part of Northern Greece. Greek Macedonia encompasses entirely the southern part of the wider region of Macedonia, making up 51% of the total area of that region. Additionally, it widely constitutes Greece's borders with three countries: Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia to the north, and Bulgaria to the northeast.
The Greek National Tourism Organisation, often abbreviated as GNTO is the governmental Board for the promotion of tourism in Greece. It functions under the supervision of the Ministry of Tourism.
The Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on the surrounding slopes, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece. The Acropolis Museum also lies over the ruins of part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Greece:
This page list topics related to Greece.
Carthaea or Karthaia was one of the four ancient Greek city-states on the island of Ceos in the Cyclades. It was located on the southeastern coast of the island.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Athens:
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