Crete posts 7.2% rise in air arrivals as Athens dips in first seven months of 2026, INSETE reports

Crete recorded about 3.2 million international air arrivals between January and July 2026, an increase of roughly 217,000 arrivals, or 7.2%, compared with the same period last year, according to the August Statistical Bulletin published by INSETE Intelligence, the research arm of the Greek Tourism Confederation. The figure made Crete the top-performing region among Greece’s main tourist destinations, even as Athens, the country’s busiest airport, recorded a slight drop in arrivals.

Across Greece’s main airports as a whole, international air arrivals reached 15.7 million in the first seven months of 2026, up about 541,000, or 3.6%, from the same period of 2025, INSETE reported. In July alone, arrivals exceeded 5 million, a rise of 3.2% year on year.

Crete leads regional arrivals

Among Greece’s tourism regions, Crete recorded the largest volume of international air arrivals after Athens, and the second-highest percentage increase behind the Peloponnese. The Dodecanese followed with about 2.5 million arrivals, up 2.4%, while the Ionian Islands logged 2.3 million arrivals, up 6.6%. The Cyclades recorded 668,000 arrivals, an increase of 4.7%. The Peloponnese, despite a far smaller volume of 154,455 arrivals, posted the highest percentage growth of any region, at 15.2%, INSETE said.

At the airport level, Heraklion recorded more than 2.26 million international arrivals, up 5.6%, while Chania approached the 1-million mark with 959,959 arrivals, a rise of 11.3%. Heraklion’s airport has also set several single-day passenger records this year, as previously reported by Heraklion airport tracking toward more than 10 million passengers in 2026.

Athens dips despite absolute lead

Athens remained by far the busiest single airport in the country, with 4.88 million international arrivals in the seven-month period. However, it was among the few major destinations to post a decline, with arrivals down about 42,000, or 0.8%, as monthly figures trended slightly lower from April through July, according to INSETE.

By contrast, Thessaloniki reached 1.61 million arrivals, up 6%, Rhodes recorded 1.71 million arrivals, up 3.7%, and Kos logged 729,000 arrivals, down 1.2%.

Fastest-growing airports

When ranked by growth rate rather than absolute volume, smaller airports led the field. Kalamata topped the list with a 20.8% rise to 107,127 arrivals, followed closely by Samos, up 19.5% to 86,305 arrivals. Karpathos posted a 13.9% increase, Skiathos rose 12.1%, and Chania grew 11.3%, INSETE reported.

Mykonos recorded a 9.5% increase to about 317,000 arrivals, while Corfu logged roughly 1.21 million arrivals, up 8.3%. Kefalonia grew 8%, Zakynthos rose 3%, and Santorini’s arrivals were nearly flat, up just 0.7%. Kavala and Mytilene were among the few destinations to record declines, falling 8.8% and 7.7% respectively.

INSETE said the data indicate that this year’s growth in Greek tourism is not driven solely by the country’s traditional top destinations. Smaller airports such as Kalamata, Samos, Karpathos and Skiathos posted double-digit growth rates, while the strong performance of Chania and Crete overall reinforced the island’s position as the largest regional hub of Greece’s incoming air tourism, according to the report.