More Finnish Tourists Expected to Visit Greece in 2020

A further 10 percent increase is expected in Finnish tourist arrivals to Greece in 2020, following an 11.5 percent rise in 2019, the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) announced after participating in the MATKA Nordic Travel Fair, which took place January 16-20 in Helsinki.

By November 30, 2019, already 322,549 tourists from Finland were recorded to have visited Greece. Moreover, according to official data of the Association of Finnish Travel Agents AFTA – SMAL, in 2019 – and for the first time – the sales of travel packages to Greece surpassed those for Spain, accounting for 35 percent of total sales.

The GNTO attended the MATKA fair with the Federation of Finnish-Hellenic Associations (2,000 Finnish members and 18 clubs), the Region of Crete and Region of South Aegean as co-exhibitors.

During the fair, the GNTO’s director of the Scandinavia office, Pavlos Mourmas, met with representatives of Finland-based tour operators Aurinkomatkat, Detur and Travelco Nordic, who “confirmed the very positive outlook for Greek tourism this year,” the GNTO said.

Mourmas announced that the GNTO will organize fam trips in Greece for Finnish tour operators and journalists as of March, aiming to promote various Greek destinations to the Finnish market.

A total of 700 exhibitors from around the world participated in the exhibition, which attracted over 68,000 visitors.