Olga Kefalogianni: Our Strategy for Extending the Tourist Season

Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni presented Greece’s strategic plan for the future of the country’s tourism sector stressing that a core goal is elongating the tourism season.

In an exclusive statement to the media outlet OT.gr Kefalogianni stated: “2024 is recorded as the new benchmark year for tourism in our country. The extension of the tourist season is now an indisputable fact.”

The minister notes that the extension of the season and the distribution of tourist arrivals—and especially revenues—across as many months and regions as possible is a strategic goal of the Ministry of Tourism, an objective shared with stakeholders and entrepreneurs in the sector. Kefalogianni confirms that travel balance results for November of 2024 reveals that this goal has been achieved.

Kefalogianni states that “The central objective of the ministry’s strategy, set from the very beginning, has been the extension of the tourist season, the promotion of new destinations, and the establishment of Greece as a year-round destination.”

Kefalogianni, emphasized that her ministry’s aims to further strengthen the competitiveness of Greek tourism, its qualitative development, and the enhancement of the country’s image. “As we plan for the future, we aim to make tourism more human-centered—for visitors, workers in the sector, and local communities—more modern and competitive, more rewarding, and more sustainable,” she stated.

In November 2024, tourism witnessed a surge in arrivals and revenues, making it by far the best November on record. Arrivals last November increased by 23.7%, following a 27.5% rise during the same month of 2023, while revenues skyrocketed by 44.7%.

The rise in travel revenues is primarily attributed to the increase in inbound travel by 23.6% as well as the 20.9% rise in average spending per trip, according to the Bank of Greece.

Data from Insete’s Airdata tracker regarding scheduled airline seats for the first months of 2025 (winter season) further confirms the elongating trend of tourism activity.

Specifically, compared to the winter season of 2023-2024, there is an increase in airline seats this year of 16.6% for January, 18.12% for February, and 15.5% for March compared to the corresponding months of 2024.