According to official data from the international airports of Rhodes, Kos, Karpathos, Mykonos and Santorini, demand for destinations across the South Aegean has been high from March 27, when the tourist season opened, to June 12. This is demonstrated by the number of flights and passengers visiting the islands of the South Aegean, which have already exceeded 1 million before the middle of June, and occupancy rates of the flights, which are at very high levels for the season.

Specifically, 1,118,797 passengers onboard 7,008 flights landed in the South Aegean, of which about half (583,042) arrived on Rhodes, 260,660 on Kos, 167,110 on Santorini, 94,800 on Mykonos, and 13,185 on Karpathos.

Figures for May higher than in 2019

This year’s May proved to be better compared to May 2019, an increase of 4.5% in the South Aegean region, with the islands of Santorini and Rhodes recording the largest increases (35% and 4.6% respectively). In the first months of the tourist season, up to May 31st, the latest figures shows an overall increase of 6.6% compared to the record year of 2019.

The number of visitors arriving at airports on the South Aegean islands in the first ten days of June is reminiscent of the numbers usually seen on August 15. On Sunday, June 12, Rhodes airport welcomed 118 flights, carrying 18,513 passengers from abroad. This is in addition to the 169,411 visitors who have already arrived on the island in the first twelve days of the month. The flow to all five islands with international airports is increasing, bringing the total number of passengers from abroad to 340,679 in just 12 days, onboard 2,135 flights.

Top markets by island

Great Britain and Germany remain the top markets for Kos and Rhodes, which was also the case in May. Rhodes also saw an increase in the number of visitors from Sweden and the Netherlands. The Cycladic islands of Mykonos and Santorini saw higher numbers of English and Italians visitors, followed by Germans and French.

Top five markets per destination for May 2022

This article was previously published in Greek at moneyreview.gr.