The tourist traffic in Chania is significant up to the first fortnight of October, according to what the president of the Chania Hoteliers Association and president of the Crete Hoteliers Association, Manolis Stamatakis, told Tornos News. At the same time, recent data for the “Ioannis Daskalogiannis” airport confirm the upward momentum of the destination, with a 4.5% increase in passenger traffic for the nine-month period from January to September 2025.
Gradual closure of hotels and market picture
As Mr. Stamatakis pointed out, until mid-October the traffic in Chania remains “interesting and significant”, however, the closure of resort hotels is slowly beginning, which will have completed their operation by mid-November. On the contrary, city hotels will remain open throughout the winter, serving business trips and small flows of visitors.
Regarding the assessment of the season, he stressed that “the people who come are numb, since there is a crisis in Europe”. However, as he underlined, “Chania has the highest daily expenditure per visitor in Crete”, which reflects the quality of the tourist public. At the same time, he referred to the pressures caused by the accuracy around hotel businesses, creating a “disharmony between revenues and results”.
Winter without charter flights – New effort for direct connections
The president of the Chania hoteliers noted that “there are no charter flights at this time, nor does anything like this appear on the horizon”. Winter visitors mainly come by regular flights or via Heraklion, where traffic is heavier.
At this point, it should be emphasized that the Chania Hoteliers Association is making concerted efforts to attract new flights from major foreign markets, such as Germany, the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries. As Mr. Stamatakis stated, “discussions are already underway with major airlines in order to strengthen Chania’s connectivity and extend the tourist season.”
Cruises and their limited economic footprint
Referring to cruises, the president of the Association pointed out that, although they contribute to tourism, “their economic footprint is not comparable to that of hospitality,” as tour guides, taxis and a small circle of professionals mainly benefit.
4.5% increase in passenger traffic at “I. Daskalogiannis” airport
Optimism for the future is reinforced by the data from “Ioannis Daskalogiannis” airport, which recorded 3,548,337 passengers in the nine months of January – September 2025, compared to 3,394,828 in 2024, recording an increase of 4.5%. The increase concerns both domestic movements (+8.7%, 740,449 passengers), and international arrivals and departures (+3.5%, 2,713,928 passengers). The strongest performance was observed in August (748,953 passengers, an increase of 4.7%), while September also moved up by 3.7%. At the same time, the number of flights increased, reaching 22,389 compared to 21,850 last year.
In any case, the continued increase in passenger traffic proves the resilience of tourism in Western Crete and the upgraded image of Chania as a destination with a high satisfaction index and potential for lengthening the season, as emphasized. It is worth noting that, as tourism operators point out, maintaining this positive course, combined with the strategy for sustainable development and new connections with abroad, is the big bet for Chania in the coming years.
