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South Aegean Islands See International Tourist Arrivals Surpass 2 Million
Posted On 07 Sep 2021
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Tourism on the islands of the Cyclades and Dodecanese stayed on pace in August and topped the two million mark for visitor arrivals to the region this summer, the South Aegean Tourism Initiative said on Monday.
According to data from the region’s five international airports – Rhodes, Kos, Santorini, Mykonos and Karpathos – for the month of August alone, international arrivals from abroad to the region doubled compared to the corresponding month of 2020.
International arrivals at the five airports in August reached 833,720 from the 421,708 in August 2020.
The South Aegean Tourism Initiative said that in total, more than 14,500 aircraft flew to the region’s islands from the beginning of the season (mid-May to June) until the end of August, “bringing more than 2 million passengers to the region, transporting a third of the country’s total arrivals to the South Aegean”.
It is noted that the above data does not include passengers traveling through Athens International Airport (AIA) on domestic flights nor passengers using Greece’s ferry network.
Top market in August was Germany
In August, Germany ranked as the leading tourist market for the South Aegean with 181,162 tourists. German visitors ranked first for Rhodes and Kos, third for Santorini and fourth for Mykonos.
Rhodes’ second largest market in August was the UK. August generally proved to be a comeback month to Greece for British travelers who also chose to visit Kos, Mykonos and Santorini.
According to the data, Poland was also a very important market in August for Rhodes, Kos and Santorini.
The list of inbound travelers to the islands of the South Aegean continues with travelers from Italy, France and The Netherlands.
Kos and Mykonos also saw a rising number of Swiss visitors in August and Santorini welcomed many Austrians.
Established in January 2021 by the regions governor, George Hatzimarkos, the South Aegean Tourism Initiative is a body made up of tourism, trade and hotel stakeholders and their relevant associations and chambers.
