A significant gap is being created this year in the recording of road tourism in Greece, as there are no longer any official statistics on road arrivals in the country. The reason is the full integration of Bulgaria into the Schengen Zone as of January 1, 2025, which resulted in the abolition of border controls between the two countries – and by extension, the cessation of data collection on the northern borders.
As noted by the SETE research institute, INSETE, in its monthly statistical bulletin, the absence of controls at the borders with Bulgaria means that it will no longer be possible to record road arrivals from the country in question. Given that 40–45% of total road arrivals in Greece originated from these borders, the time series is completely interrupted.
This development leaves the country without official statistical monitoring of a particularly critical sector of the tourism product, especially for the regions of Northern Greece, which are largely dependent on road access by travelers, mainly from neighboring Balkan countries
Road tourism 2024: 10.4 million international road arrivals
In the period January-December 2024, 11.9 million international road arrivals were recorded, compared to 10.4 million in the corresponding period in 2023, recording a significant increase of +1.5 million/+14.4%.
During this period, there was an increase from all neighboring countries compared to 2023.
In particular, the largest increase in absolute differences is recorded by Bulgaria, by +808 thousand /+18.2% as 5.3 million road arrivals were recorded. From Turkey, 1.5 million road arrivals were recorded with an increase of +346 thousand /+29.4%. From North Macedonia, 3.4 million road arrivals were recorded, recording an increase of +292 thousand /+9.4%. Finally, the increase from Albania amounted to +62 thousand /+3.6% while 1.8 million road arrivals were recorded.
No alternative at present
At present, it seems that, apart from INSETE, there is no alternative official source for recording road arrivals. This situation creates concern for local authorities, tourism operators, and businesses that rely on road access, as it becomes difficult to monitor trends and evaluate policies or promotional actions.
