It’s official: if Greece once feared the dead zone between September and May, now there’s a new plan. The country has set out bait for three giant fish—India, China, and the comfortably cash-wrapped Gulf states. Call them the cavalry or just the next 100 million, but they’re already packing their bags and don’t care if it’s “off-peak.” Stats, those tireless number crunchers, report that over 100 million Indians are expected to venture abroad by 2030, and more than 250 million Chinese travellers are roaming the globe, with a healthy fraction eyeing Europe. The Gulf states are no longer content to park their yachts in Dubai; Greece now gets a slice.
Imagine this: more arrivals, longer queues at the taverna, and higher hotel rates in October—all courtesy of sizable wallets and an allergy to Greek low seasons. As experts love to say with a straight face, an influx of visitors from these three regions brings “great purchasing power” and, more importantly, could make the phrase “off-season” sound as quaint as dial-up internet.
International Flights, or How to Make Summer Last Forever
- Greece posts an 18.3% spike in Indian travel demand, outrunning every Western rival.
- New direct flights from Athens to Indian destinations could debut sooner than 2027.
- Cultural heritage and a mild climate draw Indian travellers year-round.
- The Gulf States bumped flight capacity by over 39% from Saudi Arabia and 3% from Qatar.
- China triples flights to Greece post-pandemic, with three airlines now connecting Athens to Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu.
Let’s start with India, where the fascination with Europe has taken off in high gear. According to Mabrian’s “India Market Insights: Outbound & Inbound,” Greece saw the most significant jump in interest among Indians, leaving Spain and Austria squabbling over small change. Greece’s interest shot up by 18.3%, outpacing all rivals. For context, even tourism juggernauts like Italy and Germany achieved only 2.7% and 7.3% growth, respectively. The secret sauce? History, mild weather, and that timeless lure of a beach without a million neighbours.
The Indian travel calendar doesn’t even acknowledge the Greek one. Instead, it swings by in May and June (school holidays), pops in again for late summer, and makes another appearance for the winter break. In other words, the Indian market could turn “shoulder season” into “massive crowd season.” It’s not a bad problem to have unless you’re allergic to noise.
If that’s not enough, Aegean Airlines has fast-forwarded plans for direct India flights. “We’re exploring every way to launch direct flights to India sooner,” said Eftychios Vassilakis, Aegean’s chairman, at the IGC Business & Investment Council event. The airline is on schedule to receive a specially outfitted Airbus A321neo capable of making the trip, a hopeful sign for anyone who enjoys sleeping upright for ten hours at a stretch.
Oh, China—you didn’t think 2025 could be boring, did you? Chinese tourists are returning to Greek shores. Three airlines connect Greece and China, operating twelve to thirteen weekly flights, up from the previous four. In Athens, the airport scoreboard will soon have its own Mandarin section. Air China flies up to five times weekly from Beijing, Juneyao Air connects Shanghai four times a week, and now Sichuan Airlines arrives from Chengdu as a fresh player.
The results? In 2024, Chinese arrivals spiked to 138,600, a 30% climb over the pre-pandemic days of 2019. The experts at the National Bank of Greece (ETE) put it bluntly: “Nearly half of Europe’s new wave of tourists will be arriving from Asia.” The tourist season extension is not subtle; it’s spelt out in aeroplane fuel bills.
When Santorini Becomes a Year-Round Playground
There’s no need to pity the usual suspects: Mykonos and Santorini. They already bask in fame, but now Arab travellers are helping wipe away any lingering memories of empty autumn streets. Arrivals from Saudi Arabia have climbed 39.4%, according to AirData Tracker by INSETE, with more than 65,000 air seats available for 2025—a tidy leap from last year’s 46,798.
Qatar bumps its seats by 3% to over 108,000, while the UAE, always a little contrarian, trims its flights by just 1.2% to 213,753. Yet, the islands themselves see little reason to complain. Direct connections from the UAE to Mykonos are up 5.9% and to Santorini a whopping 37%. The math is simple: from June to October, someone in Dubai is far more likely to bump into a Greek fisherman than usual.
Add everything up, and 387,492 air seats now connect the Gulf states to Greece—a 5.2% rise over the previous year. Even Aegean joined the party with a healthy 40% hike in seats from Saudi Arabia. “We look for ways to increase the frequency and support direct routes between Athens and Riyadh, as well as Jeddah,” said Ioannis Rasoglou, Aegean’s director of network and airline partnerships, with the optimism usually reserved for lottery winners.
So, What’s the Punchline?
Sun, souvlaki, and a season that refuses to end. The Greeks are hedging their bets on travellers who don’t care what month it is as long as there’s a myth to chase or an Instagram post to collect. Whether it’s the steady rise in Indian interest, the unblinking return of Chinese tourists or Gulf visitors making their presence felt long past September, the message is as clear as Santorini’s sunsets: tourist season extension is not just a buzzword. It’s a survival strategy.
The days when “low season” meant empty chairs and quiet nights may soon join the myths. And if winter means swapping Greek pensioners for Indian families and Emirati couples—well, stranger things have happened. The tourist season extension could make Greece’s summer last forever, or at least until someone runs out of tzatziki.