Destinations at Two Speeds, Last-Minute Offers, and a Tourist Season Extending into Autumn
The Top-Performing Source Markets, According to Loguers – Markos Georgiou Explains Why Arrivals Are Increasing While Hospitality Businesses Are Still Complaining
Destinations at Two Speeds, Last-Minute Offers, and a Tourist Season Extending into Autumn
“Crete and the Ionian Islands are showing strong momentum, the picture is more complex in parts of the Aegean, while Greeks are turning to mainland Greece this year,” says Markos Georgiou, Managing Director of Loguers, a company specializing in sales management and marketing services for the hospitality industry, with a portfolio of more than 140 hotel properties across over 25 destinations in Greece and abroad.
Regarding the key difference for the 2026 summer season, he points out that it lies not in demand itself, “but in its timing. We are coming off two record-breaking years, with arrivals exceeding 35 million and tourism receipts reaching €23.6 billion in 2025. The year 2026 also started strongly—with arrivals up by more than 38% and receipts by over 70% during the first two months—but the escalation in the Middle East during spring temporarily slowed momentum and postponed travelers’ booking decisions.
Last-minute bookings are no longer a trend; they have become a structural characteristic of the market. Visitors are not cancelling—they are postponing. At the same time, we are seeing the season extend significantly into September, October and November. This fundamentally changes the way hotels operate: occupancy is no longer determined in March but during the final weeks before arrival.
To attract last-minute guests, three things are essential: real-time pricing flexibility, complete and rapid distribution across all booking channels, and targeted actions by market rather than blanket discounts. Flexible cancellation policies, making use of the existing customer base, and close cooperation with tour operators also play a decisive role.”
The Markets Showing the Strongest Momentum
Regarding the markets showing the strongest performance and those facing greater challenges this year, the German market is performing better because it is “benefiting from the shift in demand away from competing destinations in the Eastern Mediterranean, although travelers are showing a more cautious booking behavior with last-minute reservations. This year, France and Italy are also standing out, while emerging markets such as Poland and Romania continue to steadily expand our customer base.
The United Kingdom remains resilient, but continues to keep bookings ‘in hand’ due to the increased cost of living.” According to Mr. Georgiou, the five largest source markets in terms of tourism revenue—Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Italy—account for more than 40% of arrivals and over half of tourism receipts. Germany and the United Kingdom remain Greece’s two largest source markets: in 2025, the UK retained first place with 5.4 million arrivals, while Germany followed with 5.1 million, recording the largest absolute increase.
“The market that requires attention is the United States. It remains our highest-spending market—the average American visitor spends significantly more than the average tourist—but recent revenue indicators point to a slowdown, and we should not take this market for granted. In any case, the greatest structural challenge is not a single country but the dependence on a handful of major markets. It is worth noting that no single market accounts for more than 17.4% of total arrivals—and that is, in fact, a sign of resilience rather than weakness.”
A Two-Speed Picture Across Greek Destinations
Regarding destinations, “this year’s picture is clearly one of ‘two speeds.’ Crete and the Ionian Islands are showing strong momentum. In the Ionian, international air arrivals exceeded 600,000 during the first five months of the year, increasing by more than 10%, with Corfu and the British market acting as the driving force. Crete remains a top choice for German and French travelers and continues to withstand market pressures, while British visitors are mainly choosing the Ionian Islands.
Athens recorded an excellent first two months of the year and continues to achieve some of the highest satisfaction rates in Europe, exceeding 80%, although with differences from one hotel to another. Overall, Greek tourism remains highly concentrated, with five regions—South Aegean, Attica, Crete, the Ionian Islands and Central Macedonia—accounting for the vast majority of arrivals, overnight stays and tourism receipts.
The picture is more complex in parts of the Aegean, with certain destinations in the Dodecanese being affected—psychologically rather than in reality—by their proximity to the Middle East. At the same time, the domestic market is showing a shift towards mainland Greece, mainly due to cost considerations. I would not describe these as ‘problematic’ destinations, but rather as destinations that this year require more aggressive promotion and smarter channel management to close the gap. The map is not changing; what is changing is the speed at which each destination fills.
Special mention should be made of Greece’s two premium tourism flagships. Santorini remains this year’s weakest point: although recovering, it has not yet returned to 2024 levels, as it continues to carry the impact on its image caused by the winter seismic activity and the increased caution of markets such as the United States, with part of the high-end demand shifting to more affordable Cycladic destinations such as Paros and Naxos. Mykonos, on the other hand, is showing clear signs of recovery after three challenging years. It is the best proof that even the most established destinations should never be taken for granted.”
Arrivals, Pricing and Hotel Profitability
When asked whether prices are lower this year because of promotional offers, and why arrivals continue to rise while many businesses still express concerns, Mr. Georgiou describes this as “a misconception that deserves clarification. Official prices are not lower; on the contrary, the average daily rate increased, while revenue per available room also recorded growth during the first quarter. What is happening is that, in order to capture last-minute demand, many hotels are resorting to discounts, effectively reducing their actual selling price. As a result, growth is being driven more by pricing than by genuine demand, putting profitability under pressure.
This is precisely where the apparent paradox of ‘higher arrivals but more complaints’ is explained. Tourism is performing very well as a national economic indicator, but not equally well in terms of the profitability of individual businesses. Contracts were signed last year at fixed prices, while hotels have little room to adjust them, at a time when energy, payroll and operating costs continue to rise, with inflation in the hotel and food service sector reaching 8.5%. Simply put, turnover is increasing while profit margins are lagging behind.
The answer is not discounts—it is discipline. Proper revenue management, channel diversification and value-based pricing rather than panic pricing are what keep profitability healthy. In a year where success will be measured by performance rather than by the number of occupied rooms, the difference between a good season and an average one will not be how many visitors arrived, but how effectively each business priced the value it had to offer.”
Read here:
https://www.protothema.gr/economy/article/1846099/oi-duo-tahutites-ston-tourismo-oi-proorismoi-pou-kerdizoun-kai-autoi-pou-psahnoun-to-last-minute/
https://www.newmoney.gr/roh/palmos-oikonomias/tourismos/i-dio-tachitites-ston-tourismo-i-proorismi-pou-kerdizoun-ke-afti-pou-psachnoun-to-last-minute-pic/
https://www.clickatlife.gr/taksidi/story/233324/to-last-minute-ginetai-kanonas-ston-elliniko-tourismo-o-markos-georgiou-eksigei-tis-allages-stin-agora
