*By Anna Konstantoulaki
Individual travelers are planning their vacations early to secure better prices, the president of the Hotel Managers tells “P”.
“Explosive increase” exceeding 117% in direct online hotel bookings for Crete in 2026, by individual travelers who want to take advantage of the lower price opportunities they secure, Nelios finds in its report.
The data concerns direct bookings by individual travelers on Greek hotel websites.
Nelios’ analysis showed that bookings for 2026 have increased by 33.3% compared to the corresponding period in 2024, while turnover also appears to have increased by 19.2%.
The momentum of individual travelers is reflected in almost all the country’s top tourist destinations, with the exception of small – but highly likely to be reversed in the course of – losses, compared to last year, recorded for Zakynthos, Rhodes, Santorini and Mykonos, heralding a season with particularly high tourist demand for Greece.
Great increase in demand for Athens (+24%) and Thessaloniki (+67.7%)
Kos, Paros and Crete lead the race.
Crete leads the “race” in the islands
In island Greece, Crete dominates in growth rates as it shows increases of 117.5% and 164.66% in advance reservations and turnover, respectively.
The Ionian Islands follow with pre-bookings up by 58.2% and turnover up by 129.5% compared to the corresponding period last year.
In the country’s major urban centers, Thessaloniki leads the way, with hotels recording a 67.7% increase in pre-bookings and a 56.2% increase in turnover compared to the corresponding period last year. Athens shows a 24% increase in pre-bookings and a 29.22% increase in turnover.
They take advantage of opportunities for lower prices
Commenting on the findings of the analysis, Nelios CEO, Mr. Dimitris Serifis, stated: “We observe that international travelers are now very sensitive to prices and this leads them to systematically turn to early booking offers. The strong rise in advance bookings for 2026 reflects precisely this behavior: the appetite for travel is high, but many are booking early in order to take advantage of the low-price opportunities offered by advance bookings.
This trend creates a particularly favorable environment for 2026, both for the islands that are recording impressive growth and for the mainland destinations that in 2026 are further strengthening their position in Greek tourism.
“People want to travel, but they plan their holidays in time, in order to achieve offers and generally better prices,” the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Hotel Managers, Giorgos Pelecanakis, told “P”.
He noted that in addition to individual travelers, tour operator data shows an increase in advance bookings from the British market of around 10%-20%.
“It is still early to have an overall picture, but the indications are positive for 2026 as well,” he said.
Source: patris.gr