If Greece handed out trophies for Easter, Crete would need a bigger shelf. Crete Easter bookings rocketed up 82.4% compared to last year. Yes, you read that right, and no, this isn’t a typo. Maybe people want real Easter experiences—and not just at overpriced beach clubs.
Let’s be honest—everyone was expecting Santorini and Mykonos to rake in the Easter cash again. Well, cue the tiny violin, because not this year. According to data crunched by Nelios, people from 112 countries decided to test every Greek hotelier’s patience—at least one brave soul booked from each place, so congrats to the marketing team.
Throw in a 12.6% jump in local Greek travelers compared to last Easter, and you can practically hear the hotel desk bells ringing day and night. Greeks are traveling more inside their own country.
Crete Easter Bookings: Take a Bow, You Overachiever
Crete Easter Bookings didn’t just rise—they exploded, up a ridiculous 82.4% over last year. The sound you hear isn’t the surf; it’s travel agents laughing maniacally at fully booked calendars. By April, hotel receptionists stopped answering the phone, muttering things about “booked solid since Christmas.”
Travelers swarmed islands and regions offering Greek culture, not just Instagram backdrops.
Dodecanese Islands climbed 37.6%, Peloponnese 23.6%, Attica 22.9%, and mainland Greece 19.3%. Even the Ionian Islands managed a 4.6% bump. Almost every place except the Cycladic darlings saw more tourists roaming the streets, searching for authentic food and less-than-authentic souvenirs.
Paros rose above its Cycladic neighbors, notching up a 28.1% increase. Congratulations for being the exception while everyone else blamed the weather, ferry strikes, or inflation.
Not to be left behind, scenic Pelion (+31.43%), Parga (+30.7%), Litochoro (+26.67%), and Monemvasia (+23.1%) proved that if you give tourists dramatic scenery and some old stones, they’ll flock to you no matter what the big islands do.
Meanwhile, in the Cyclades, the vibes are off. Santorini had a rough season—bookings dropped 20.2%. Mykonos wasn’t far behind, sinking by 12.1%. Even Naxos felt the pinch with a 6.3% drop, and Cephalonia slipped by 4.4%.
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