Leading inbound travel markets in Crete, Greece 2019-2022, by number of visits

The United Kingdom ranked as Crete’s biggest travel market, with the Greek island recording around 1.2 million visits from British tourists in 2022. This figure shows a significant increase compared to the previous year and also surpassed the volume of travelers from 2019, prior to the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Meanwhile, Germany and France followed in the ranking in 2022, with around one million and 548 thousand visits in Crete, respectively.

Crete as a tourist destination

In 2022, Crete, the largest Greek island, was the fourth most popular destination for international travelers in Greece. The mountainous island is also frequently visited by domestic tourists, with domestic air arrivals on Crete bouncing back to more than 900 thousand in 2022 while remaining slightly below pre-pandemic levels.

Travel and tourism in Greek islands

Greece's islands are an important driver of tourism. In 2022, destinations such as Rhodes and Kos attracted more than two million and one million international guests, respectively, as the number of international air arrivals to the South Aegean islands rebounded after the impact of the health crisis. The Ionian Islands, located off the western coast of the country, were also a popular destination within Greece, with Corfu recording close to 1.7 million air arrivals in 2022.