The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has pointed to a boost in the Greek tourism sector as international arrivals to Greece increased by seven percent in 2015, reaching 23.6 million visitors. This comes as timely news for Greece ahead of the implementation of its tourism policy framework, launched last year in an effort to enhance international tourism.

“We have no doubt that Greece will maintain a powerful image worldwide as a major tourism destination so that the country consolidates its growth in 2016, as shown by booking trends,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai.

Based on current performances, there are strong indications that Rifai’s predictions will come true.

UK and US regain interest

British visitor numbers to Greece grew by more than 14 percent in 2015. The increase meant 2.3 million visitors from the UK arrived in the country in 2015. Greece also noted growth in US visitor numbers by 26.8 percent to 750,000 people.

The Russians are coming

February booking data from the Russian Yandex reservation platform of the Russian Tour Operators Union (ATOR) showcased Greece as the fourth most popular summer vacation destination for Russians in 2016, behind Thailand, Egypt and Vietnam. February 2016 was a very busy month with requests for tours to Greece jumping up by 42.8 percent compared to January, and 47 percent compared to February 2015.

Russians are particularly interested in bookings for Greek resorts, and they are willing to pay from 63 to 98 euros per couple. Regions most interested in tourism to Greece are Leningrad (+243 percent, 4,419 people), Moscow (+194 percent, 11,286 people), Kaliningrad (+158 percent, 171 people) and Murmansk (+147 percent, 174 people).

German interest rejuvenated

The Greek islands experienced a surge in interest from German travelers, according to data by TravelTainment, the German travel software provider. The online service, monitoring the bookings of Germany’s 10 largest travel agencies, tour operators and online booking companies, linked the rising preference for Greek destinations to waning interest in the Turkish Riviera.

The monitoring service predicts that Crete will have a 50 percent increase in bookings while the island of Rhodes will note 37 percent growth.

Scandinavians come for sea and sun

Grekland Panorama was held in February in Stockholm with the support of the Greek National Tourism Organization. The conference, aimed at bolstering Swedish interest, was visited by roughly 11,200 people. A series of meetings on the sidelines of the exhibition gauged that there would be a four to five percent rise in reservations to Greece. However, much of this would be focused on Chalkidiki in northern Greece bearing in mind the efforts of tour operators.

Greece is ranked seventh in Scandinavian preferences, with 60 percent of travelers booking their Greek holidays through the internet.