Travelers booking hotels this spring might notice an odd trend—more packed rooms, less packed restaurants. In the first three months of 2025, Greece’s accommodation sector rolled out a modest parade, showing a 7.5% rise in revenue compared to the same period last year. It’s not bad for an industry that spends half its energy arguing about pillow firmness.
But not every region danced to the same tune. Heraklion strutted to the front with a revenue increase of 40%. Thessaloniki, seasoned in modesty, eked out a 7% bump, while Chania proved that not all sunshine leads to joy, suffering a gloomy 22% slide.
Meanwhile, the catering decline made itself right at home. For every bed that was filled, it seemed there was an empty seat at a restaurant. The national turnover for food-service businesses plummeted by 7.6%. In an impressive act of financial limbo, Santorini’s catering sector bent backwards with an eye-watering 36.1% tumble. Corinthia, perhaps favoring coffee over chaos, saw only a gentle 1.7% dip. As for Mykonos, its restaurants bucked the trend with a 35.6% boom, which is just another day for a place where even the salads are VIPs.
Behind the Numbers: Where Travelers Sleep and Eat
Go ahead, call it a Greek drama with two acts—beds on a roll, bistros in free-fall. The official figures from ELSTAT draw a clear line: accommodations seem to get all the love, while restaurants and cafes eye the season with the enthusiasm of a cat at bath time.
Accommodation Revenue Q1 2025:
- €488,405,000 revenue (up from €454,470,000 in 2024)
- Heraklion: +40%
- Thessaloniki: +7%
- Chania: -22%
Catering Revenue Q1 2025:
- €1,843,912,000 revenue (down from €1,996,044,000 in 2024)
- Santorini: -36.1%
- Mykonos: +35.6%
- Corinthia: -1.7%
This travel sector split isn’t just about numbers. It’s a tale of two industries—sometimes found in the same building—carefully avoiding eye contact over breakfast buffets. Some might see this as a sign of shifting tourist habits or maybe just a collective decision to spend more time in hotel robes than at dinner tables.
Travelers picking their next getaway should watch the trends carefully: the best rooms may be filling up fast, but tables at once-crowded tavernas could soon be standing-room only, for all the wrong reasons.
If you ever wondered what happens when half a vacation is booming, and the other half is on strike, here you have it—Greece in Q1 2025, where sleep is selling and supper is sulking.