South Aegean Region Sees 2022 Tourism Season Ending with Record Arrivals

The island of Mykonos.

International arrivals to Greece’s South Aegean Region are up by 20.40 percent so far this month compared to pre-pandemic 2019 and by 14.62 percent over 2021 maintaining a positive dynamic until the end of the year, the South Aegean Tourism Initiative (SATI) said on Monday.

More specifically, with such popular destinations as Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes and Kos, the South Aegean Region welcomed more than 33,000 international flights and is expecting to end the tourism season with some 6 million incoming arrivals, setting a new record in 2022, said SATI.

Acropolis of Lindos, Rhodes. Photo source: Ministry of Culture

In the October 1-16 period, the region’s five main airports handled a total of 320,000 international passenger arrivals.

In the period under review, arrivals to Santorini increased by 6 percent, are up by 13.4 percent on Rhodes, have grown by 19 percent on Kos, and recorded a 16 percent rice on Mykonos compared to the same period in 2021.

Overall in October so far (October 1-16), Rhodes has welcomed some 170,000 arrivals from 152,570 in 2021 and 145,706 in 2019, while 90,000 people visited Kos up from 73,852 in 2021 and 75,011 in 2019.

Between the October 1-16 period, Santorini welcomed 39,000 visitors (up by 6 percent compared to 2021 and up by 41 percent compared to 2019) and Mykonos saw arrivals surpass 16,000, almost near the number of 17,000 visitors in 2019 but up from 13,936 in 2021.

Founded in 2020, the South Aegean Tourism Initiative is made up of local tourism, trade and hospitality professionals and their relevant associations and chambers.