October 6, 2025

Athens Rising: A Data Driven Look at Tourism Demand

A data driven look at Athens’ tourism trends, demand growth, and the factors that make it one of the strongest pillars in Greek hospitality.

Athens, Greece

Executive Summary

This report analyzes key trends and insights related to tourism demand for Athens, Greece. By examining data from booking engines, search engines, and guest reviews, we identified a substantial year over year increase in demand for 2024 compared to 2023.

Key findings include:

  • Google searches for Athens hotels in 2024 nearly doubled compared to 2023.
  • The search trend shows a steeper climb from February to summer, signaling not just a seasonal spike but a broader behavioral shift.
  • The most active request months were March and April, while summer remained stable.
  • Couples remain the dominant guest type, followed by families, with solo travelers surpassing groups.
  • Overall demand per destination increased by +14.89%, but demand per property slightly declined (-1.15%) due to intensified competition.
  • Guest reviews show strong performance across all quality metrics, with staff hospitality rated the highest.

These insights highlight Athens’ position as a year round tourism hub and underline both opportunities and challenges for hoteliers operating in this competitive market.

Data Sources and Methodology

Data was collected for the period from January 2023 through December 2024 for more than 1000 hotels. This analysis leverages data from three primary sources:

  • Search Engine Data: We analyzed over 46,603,253 Google search trends for Athens hotels, including year over year comparisons.
  • Booking Engine Data: Nearly 400M booking requests and demand entries were analyzed, segmented by month and guest type, amounting to more than half a million data points in total.
  • Guest Reviews: Analysis of 4,613,000 aggregated hotel reviews focusing on quality indicators such as cleanliness, staff, and location.

Google searches for Athens 2023 vs 2024

Searches on Google for Athens hotels show a substantial increase from 2023 to 2024, with total search volume nearly doubling.

Two main differences stand out:

  • Demand rose sharply even during the earlier months of the year, particularly from February through summer, signaling a more proactive traveler mindset.
  • While demand remained high throughout 2024, it showed a gradual decline in October, unlike 2023, when searches spiked. This divergence may indicate a large scale event or increased early planning for 2024 travel during late 2023.

Overall, Athens appears to be strengthening its position as a year round destination, with sustained interest beyond the summer months.

The top players in Athens

Athens’ hotels consistently rank among the most searched in Greece, sometimes surpassing island resorts in demand.

For 2024, the top 10 hotels, according to our PRSI, were:

  1. Grand Hyatt Athens
  2. Divani Caravel
  3. Electra Palace Athens
  4. Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens
  5. Electra Metropolis
  6. Hotel Grande Bretagne, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Athens
  7. Athenaeum InterContinental by IHG
  8. Royal Olympic Hotel
  9. President Hotel Athens
  10. Wyndham Grand Athens
© Grand Hyatt Athens
© Divani Caravel

Grand Hyatt Athens dominated 2024, holding the lead consistently. Divani Caravel remained a close competitor, securing second place. Electra Palace maintained strong, stable demand, pointing to sustained traveler trust. Four Seasons Astir Palace started low but rose rapidly, peaking in June before gradually tapering off, showing strong luxury appeal and momentum retention.

This mix of consistency and competitive shifts demonstrates Athens’ dynamic hospitality market, where brand trust and strategic positioning play a critical role.

Map

2025 Outlook: Emerging Trends and Demand Insights

Preliminary data for 2025 indicate that Athens maintains solid performance, with consistent traveler interest and stable visibility across digital channels. Google searches for hotels in Attica show a marginal decrease of -1.28% year over year, suggesting that demand remains steady at a high baseline following the significant growth of 2024.

Booking engine data reflects a similar trend, with request volumes down by –2.98% compared to the same period last year, indicating a slight normalization in traveler activity rather than a decline in intent.

Confirmed demand per stay date shows a -4.72% adjustment year over year, highlighting the impact of intensified competition and a more even distribution of bookings across properties. Still, demand peaks continue to occur between May and June, maintaining the same seasonal pattern observed in 2024.

Overall, early 2025 figures suggest a mature and resilient market, where traveler interest remains strong and Athens continues to hold its position as a leading year round urban destination.

Accommodation Demand and Request Analysis

Travelers began planning their trips primarily in March and April 2024, with summer showing stability compared to 2023.
This aligns with Google search trends, confirming a more stable demand curve throughout the year compared to the fluctuations of 2023.

In terms of confirmed demand, 2024 outperformed 2023 with a +14.89% increase overall.
However, the number of properties also grew, resulting in a slight -1.15% decline in demand per property.

This suggests that while the destination benefits from rising popularity, individual hoteliers face fiercer competition, requiring sharper marketing and differentiation strategies.

The data revealed a distinct and logical pattern:

  • Interest began to build steadily from March and increased through the spring months.
  • Requests peaked in July both years.
  • There’s a sharp decline from August through December, when the tourism season is concluded for the year.

This pattern is consistent with Mediterranean booking behavior, when people start actively searching for accommodation from spring, and requests reach their highest volume in mid summer as both last minute and peak season planning collide.

Who travels to Athens?

Athens continues to attract a diverse guest mix, reflecting its broad appeal across traveler segments. Couples represent the largest share at 43%, followed by families at 26%, solo travelers at 18%, and groups at 13%. This balanced distribution highlights Athens’ versatility as a destination that resonates equally with leisure seekers, cultural explorers, and family oriented visitors.

  • Couples remain the largest segment.
  • Families follow closely behind.
  • Solo travelers exceeded groups, marking a notable trend for 2024.

The rise in solo travel reflects broader global patterns, as city destinations like Athens appeal to independent travelers who seek culture, gastronomy, and accessibility year round.

Greece remains the largest contributor to Athens’ demand with 20.69% market share showing a 9.47% year over year increase. The United States follows closely at 20.47%, up 14.04%, reaffirming its strong position as a major long-haul market. Israel shows the most impressive surge with a 45.60% increase, now accounting for 9.33% of total demand a clear sign of intensified travel activity.

Among European markets, the United Kingdom (6.28%), Germany (4.22%), and France (3.99%) continue to be steady sources, each showing healthy double-digit growth. Notably, Italy (+40.11%) and Canada (+21.80%) stand out as emerging growth markets.

Country 20242023% TrendRank
All Countries6561998551430018.990
Greece135799112405659.461
United States of America1343034117764514.042
Israel61199442032745.593
United Kingdom41206236816811.924
Cyprus31721327699114.525
Germany27696321769327.226
France26178222232517.747
Australia2426452252267.738
Canada23467119266621.89
Italy20934414941740.110

Overall, total worldwide demand for Athens grew by 19.00% compared to last year, signaling robust recovery and rising international interest across both traditional and secondary markets.

Destination Quality Review from Guest Reviews

Guest reviews highlight Athens as a destination that continues to exceed traveler expectations across all major hospitality dimensions. For this analysis, feedback from thousands of verified guests was reviewed across leading booking platforms. The sentiment remains strongly positive, reflecting Athens’ blend of vibrant urban culture, exceptional service standards, and rich heritage.

MetricsMinMaxAverage
Cleanliness6.1108.95
Value for Money6.2108.37
Facilities5108.57
Free WiFi4.7108.73
Staff6.3109.2
Location5.5108.86
Comfort6.3108.94

Staff hospitality stands out as Athens’ defining strength, with an impressive average score of 9.20 the highest among all evaluated categories. The consistency across the year highlights the city’s hallmark warmth and professionalism, reaffirming its reputation for genuine Greek hospitality.

Cleanliness (8.95) and location (8.86) also earn strong praise, suggesting that guests deeply value both the upkeep of accommodations and the city’s convenient access to landmarks, culture, and entertainment.

Metrics such as comfort (8.94), Wi-Fi quality (8.73), and facilities (8.57) perform solidly, though they show slightly greater variation across properties. Targeted enhancements like promoting upgraded amenities or emphasizing digital connectivity could further elevate guest perception.

Value for money (8.37), while still positive, presents an opportunity for refinement. In a destination as competitive as Athens, transparent pricing and perceived value remain key to sustaining guest satisfaction and loyalty.

Conclusion

Athens has firmly established itself as a year round tourism destination, with demand nearly doubling in 2024 compared to 2023. Couples and families remain the backbone of the market, but the rise of solo travelers highlights shifting dynamics.

While increased competition has slightly diluted demand per property, the overall growth curve reflects a mature and stable market, where brand reputation, guest trust, and strategic marketing are key success factors.

Athens’ top hotels, ranging from luxury icons like Grand Hyatt and Four Seasons Astir Palace to consistent performers like Electra Palace, illustrate how prestige and stability drive visibility and bookings.

For hoteliers, the insights point to the need for:

  • Early targeting of travelers during March – April planning stages.
  • Strong brand positioning to stand out in an increasingly competitive market.
  • Leveraging staff excellence and guest satisfaction as a differentiator.

Athens is not just a gateway to Greece, it is a destination in its own right, combining timeless cultural appeal with year-round hospitality demand.

Do not miss out on our other exciting analysis here.