The fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel is worrying in relation to the effects that developments in the region may have on Greek tourism and investments in our country.
According to the most recent economic developments report of Alpha Bank, a prolonged military conflict between Israel and Iran may have direct and indirect adverse effects on Greek tourism.
Specifically, in terms of direct impacts on Greek tourism, 1.3 million are “at risk” available air seats based on scheduled incoming flights to our country from Israel for the summer season (March-October), which show an increase of 43.5% from last year and represent 4.7% of the total, as well as active air seat reservations that increase by approximately 57%.
Although travel arrivals from Israel increased by almost 30% in 2024, amounting to 621 thousand, their share of the total was relatively limited, as it amounted to 1.7%. At the same time, the corresponding travel receipts amounted to 419 million euros in 2024, up from 269 million. euros in 2023.
It is noted that Greece generally maintains a surplus in the balance of services with Israel, which is mainly attributed to tourism and in 2023 amounted to 0.43 billion euros.
Regarding the indirect effects, the Alpha Bank economic development bulletin notes that the uncertainty due to the hostilities in the Middle East may primarily discourage longer-distance travelers from Asia, Oceania, or the Americas, as the wider Eastern Mediterranean region could be considered a “neighborhood of instability”, mainly affecting travel arrivals and cruise receipts.
2024 was a record year, as cruise arrivals reached 4.7 million, up 42% compared to 2023, while corresponding receipts amounted to 1 billion euros, having more than doubled compared to the previous decade.
In addition, it is indicated that inbound travel traffic from the USA, Canada, and Australia amounted to 2 million in 2024, generating revenues of 2.2 billion euros, or almost 10% of the total.
In the first four months of 2025, however, the performance of Greek tourism remained on an upward path with arrivals recording an increase of 5.8% compared to the same period in 2024 and travel receipts increasing by 10.6%, respectively.
Possible delays in the implementation of investments in Greece
At the same time, geopolitical unrest could delay the implementation of investment projects and slow down Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows, which have also been at historically high levels in recent years.
In 2024, FDI amounted to €6.8 billion, an increase of 41.3% compared to 2023, confirming the ongoing dynamic recovery after the pandemic. The average FDI has almost tripled from €2.2 billion in the period 2010-2020, to €6.2 billion in the period 2021-2024, recording a significant increase mainly in manufacturing, real estate and financial and insurance activities.
It is noted that net FDI inflows from Israel mainly concern real estate and amounted to 122 million euros in 2024, representing 1.8% of total FDI inflows.
