Direct online hotel bookings in Greece for 2026 show strong growth, according to aggregated early-booking data up to the end of October collected and analysed by Nelios, which refer to direct bookings by individual travellers on the websites of Greek hotels.
Nelios’ analysis showed that early bookings for 2026 are up by 33.3% compared to the corresponding period in 2024, while revenue is also strengthened by 19.2%.
The momentum of individual travellers is evident in almost all of the country’s top tourism destinations, with the exception of small – but highly likely to shift as the season progresses – losses compared with last year recorded for Zakynthos, Rhodes, Santorini, and Mykonos, signalling a season of particularly high tourism demand for Greece.
Kos, Paros and Crete lead the race
In the Greek islands, Crete dominates in growth rates as it shows increases of 117.5% in early bookings and 164.66% in revenue. The Ionian Islands follow, with early bookings up by 58.2% and revenue boosted by 129.5% compared with the same period last year.
The Cyclades, due to their mixed performance, record a 20% rise in early bookings and a 7.2% decline in revenue, while the Dodecanese are on positive ground with increases of 1.7% and 5.1% respectively.
The leaders in growth are Kos, which shows the strongest early-booking performance nationwide with a jump of 170% and an increase of 132.5% in revenue, and Paros, which grows impressively with early bookings up by 139.5% and revenue by 47.2%.
Corfu also appears to be starting 2026 on a very positive footing. The island records increases of 69% in early bookings and 146% in online hotel booking revenue.
Mixed picture in the Cyclades
In contrast, the Cyclades present a mixed picture, where—with the exception of Paros—losses are observed in the two most iconic islands of Greek tourism. Santorini and Mykonos show a decline in revenue, at -7.4% and -19% respectively, with Santorini recording a small drop in early bookings of 1.1%, while Mykonos is up by 15.1% compared with last year.
Zakynthos also shows a downward trend (-7.1% in early bookings and marginal revenue decline), as does Rhodes (-3.2% and marginal decline respectively), reflecting variations in early demand for mature destinations, possibly driven among other factors by the prevailing trend for shorter booking windows.
Strong demand for Athens and Thessaloniki
In the country’s major urban centres, Thessaloniki leads in growth, with early bookings up by 67.7% and revenue up by 56.2% compared to last year. Athens records a 24% increase in early bookings and a 29.22% increase in revenue.
In mainland Greece, Parga shows an impressive 83.8% increase in early bookings with revenue strengthened by 56%, while the Peloponnese also signals a strong outlook for 2026 with early bookings up by 63.8% and revenue by 67.8%.
Strong demand also for the 2025 holiday season – Arachova is the top performer
Online hotel bookings for the upcoming 2025 holiday period across Greek destinations are also showing strong momentum. Demand is higher than last year, with bookings up by 19.3% and an even greater increase in revenue (+32.5%).
Arachova, a well-established winter destination, stands out with a jump in bookings (137.5%) and revenue (161%), followed by Metsovo with a 14.3% increase in bookings and a significant boost in revenue (66.4%).
Major urban destinations that traditionally attract high interest for Christmas and New Year holidays are also strengthened compared with last year. Athens shows an increase in bookings of 16.4% with revenue up by 32.4%, while Thessaloniki shows increases of +22.5% and +24.5% respectively.
Finally, the Peloponnese, although showing increased revenue (+16%), records a decrease in bookings of 5.5%.
Commenting on the analysis, Nelios CEO Mr Dimitris Serafis said: “We observe that international travellers now show very high price sensitivity, which drives them systematically towards early-booking offers. The strong growth in early bookings for 2026 reflects precisely this behaviour: the willingness to travel is high, but many are booking early to take advantage of low-price opportunities offered by early bookings.
This trend is shaping a particularly favourable environment for 2026, both for the islands, which are recording impressive growth and for the mainland destinations, which in 2026 further strengthen their position in Greek tourism.”
Nelios Digital Business Optimisation Expert Ms Emmanuela Kouká said: “The sharp increase we are recording in early bookings resembles the demand pattern of 2025, where early bookings were satisfactory, followed by a relative pause in reservations and eventually a strong wave of last-minute bookings.
It is clear that travellers now operate with strong price sensitivity and that offers significantly shape the pace of early bookings for the new season.”
Since 2008, Nelios has been providing digital marketing services to tourism businesses and strengthening their online presence, thus contributing decisively to the growth of their profitability. It is the first company in Greece to highlight the need to boost hotels’ direct bookings as a structural tool for sustainable growth.
