Greece tourism arrivals rose by 2.6% in August 2026, driven by stronger demand from foreign visitors and faster growth in short-stay accommodation than in hotels and campsites. The country recorded nearly 7.43 million arrivals and 34.69 million overnight stays during the month, according to provisional data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
Total arrivals reached 7,429,931, an increase of 2.6% compared with August 2025. Overnight stays rose by 2.1% to 34,685,695. The figures show that visitor numbers grew slightly faster than the total number of nights spent in accommodation establishments, suggesting that the increase in arrivals did not translate into an equal rise in overnight stays.
Foreign visitors accounted for most of Greece’s accommodation activity during the month. They represented 76.7% of all arrivals and 84% of overnight stays, while Greek residents accounted for 23.3% of arrivals and 16% of overnight stays. The figures underline the importance of international tourism to Greece, particularly when measured by the number of nights visitors spend in the country.
Arrivals among foreign visitors increased by 2.9% year on year, compared with 1.7% among Greek residents. Overnight stays followed a similar pattern, rising by 2.3% for international visitors and 1.2% for domestic travellers. Foreign demand therefore recorded stronger growth across both measures.
The difference between accommodation types was also significant. Rented rooms and other collective short-stay accommodation recorded the strongest growth, with arrivals increasing by 5.2% compared with August 2025. This was substantially higher than the 1.5% increase recorded by hotels and campsites.
Overnight stays showed an even wider gap. Rented rooms registered a 4.6% increase, while hotels and campsites recorded growth of just 1.1%. The figures suggest that short-stay accommodation gained momentum during the month, although the data alone do not establish why its growth was stronger.
Foreign visitors contributed to the increase across both accommodation categories, but the pace of growth varied. In hotels and campsites, arrivals among foreign tourists rose by 1.9%, while arrivals among Greek residents increased by 0.5%. Overnight stays grew by 1.2% for foreign visitors and 0.8% for domestic travellers.
Rented rooms recorded stronger increases for both groups. Arrivals among foreign visitors rose by 5.5%, compared with 4.2% for Greek residents. Overnight stays increased by 5.1% for international visitors and 2.2% for domestic travellers. The difference was particularly clear in overnight stays, where foreign demand grew more than twice as fast as demand from Greek residents.
The length of stay remained unchanged overall at an average of 4.7 days, matching the figure for August 2025. However, international visitors continued to stay longer than domestic travellers. Foreign tourists spent an average of 5.1 days in accommodation establishments, compared with 3.2 days for Greek residents.
This difference was consistent across accommodation types. In hotels and campsites, foreign visitors stayed for an average of 5.1 days, while Greek residents stayed for 3.2 days. In rented rooms, the corresponding averages were 5.2 days for foreign visitors and 3.3 days for Greek residents.
The August figures point to continued growth in Greece’s tourism accommodation sector, with international visitors accounting for the larger share of activity and rented rooms recording stronger annual increases than hotels and campsites. However, the overall rise in overnight stays remained below the growth in arrivals, while the average length of stay showed no change from the previous year.
