2023 Year in Review

2023 has been some year…

It will forever be known as the year when the threat of Covid faded and travel recovered with open borders, no pandemic restrictions and increased bookings.

But 2023 will also be remembered as the year when a series of natural disasters shook destinations all over the world including Greece, prompting the discussion around climate change to grow enormously… Greece first saw fires come in August, only to be followed by the Storm Daniel floods in September. It was said that the amount of rain that fell in Thessaly (in 12 hours) was equivalent to that recorded over a year in Athens…

A month after the natural disasters, 2023 then continued with a war: Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, shocking the world. The year, which began and is ending with the Russian-Ukraine conflict, is also ending with the Hamas-Israel war still going on.

Back to Greece. Despite the natural disaster toll, the country saw its tourism sector stay on track and mark a full recovery in just the first 10 months of the year breaking pre-Covid 2019 records.

Although good news for tourism, experts warn that challenges still loom: inflation, energy crisis, geopolitical instability and the need to prioritize natural disaster prevention strategies.

Following are some news highlights of the eventful year of 2023.

Nikos Krinis, Managing Editor, GTP Headlines