Greece: 2015 Tourist Arrivals by Air Up 5.7% to 15.5 Million

International visitor arrivals to Greece’s main airports grew 5.7 percent to 15.5 million during the January-December 2015 period, according to processed data released on Thursday by the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE).

Specifically, last year Greece recorded 843,000 additional international air arrivals compared to 2014.

Air arrivals to Athens surge 22.6% last year

According to the data, air arrivals to destination Athens maintained its upward trend during December 2015 with an increase of 15.5 percent compared with the same month in 2014. The increase of air arrivals to Athens for the whole year of 2015 was 22.6 percent compared to 2014.

In regards to the whole country, excluding Athens, air arrivals moved marginally lower in December 2015 when compared to December 2014, as some 1,000 fewer passengers were recorded. However, air arrivals to Greece, excluding Athens, during the whole year of 2015 were up as some 77,000 more passengers were recorded compared to the year before.

The Ionian, the Cyclades and other destinations saw an increase in air arrivals last year with figures reaching 3.7 percent, 15 percent and 7.6 percent respectively.

On the other hand, the Dodecanese, Crete and the Peloponnese recorded a drop in air arrivals compared to 2014 of around -2 percent, -0.8 percent and -12.3 percent respectively.