“Chinese tourists are the future of Greece’s travel industry” said experts

About the author: Pedro Wang is the founder of Chinese Tourists Agency. He has worked with Mediterranean tourism boards including those focused on the Greek market. He has spent 15 years helping destinations attract Chinese travelers.

The gap between desire and reality

Greek tourism experts have been saying it for years: China is the future of this market. The data backs it up. Santorini is one of the most-searched European destinations on Chinese platforms. The Acropolis, Delphi, and the island landscapes have deep organic appeal. Chinese travelers genuinely want to come. And yet, compared to France, Italy, or Spain, the Chinese visitor numbers in Greece remain modest. The question experts keep asking is: why, and what does it take to close that gap?

The answer is structural, not motivational. The appetite is not the problem.

The market data (2024-2026)

• Chinese arrivals in Athens grew 30% in 2024 year-on-year, outpacing most European destinations.
• Direct weekly flights between China and Athens: 3 in 2019, 12 by summer 2025. That is a 4x increase in connectivity in six years.
• Sichuan Airlines launched a direct Chengdu-Athens route in June 2025: the first direct link to Southwest China, a region of 90 million people with rising middle-class travel demand.
• Aegean Airlines and Air China signed a new codeshare agreement in April 2026, adding Ctrip integration for Chinese booking flows.
• Greece welcomed a record 37.98 million total tourists in 2025, +5.6% vs 2024. The Minister of Tourism called it “the best year ever” and described early 2026 data as “optimistic.”
• Tourism accounts for approximately 25% of Greece’s GDP, making outreach to high-spending markets like China a strategic priority, not just a marketing exercise.
• Over 155 million outbound trips from China in 2025, the first time this exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Europe remains the top region for aspirational Chinese travel.

What the experts say

Greek tourism officials and industry leaders who have worked on the China market identify three structural factors that determine whether the numbers continue to grow or plateau.

Flight connectivity is the primary constraint. Every route addition produces a measurable spike in bookings. The Juneyao Airlines Shanghai-Athens expansion in 2025 and the Sichuan Airlines Chengdu route are not small news items: they are market-opening events. Industry analysts estimate that each new weekly direct flight generates 3,000-5,000 incremental Chinese visitors per season. The bottleneck is not demand; it is seats.

Digital infrastructure inside Greece remains underdeveloped. Chinese travelers book on Ctrip, research on Xiaohongshu, and pay with Alipay or WeChat Pay. The majority of Greek hotels, restaurants, and tour operators are not visible on these platforms. A traveler who wants to visit Crete or Rhodes and cannot find their hotel on Ctrip will book somewhere else. The infrastructure gap is not a technology problem: it is an awareness and prioritization problem. Most Greek operators do not know what they are missing.

Brand positioning in China is still weak. France and Italy have spent decades and significant resources building their destination brands on Chinese platforms. Greece has strong organic appeal, but it has not been amplified with the same systematic effort. When Chinese travelers think of a European dream trip, Greece is rarely the first answer. Santorini appears, but Greece as a multi-destination country with islands, mainland history, and mountain landscapes: that picture is not built yet in the Chinese market.

The Chinese tourist profile for Greece

Understanding who is coming helps target the right offer.

The primary Chinese visitor to Greece today is urban, educated, and aged 25-40. They are often traveling as a couple for a honeymoon or anniversary trip. They have been to Western Europe before: they have done Paris, Rome, Barcelona. Greece is a step up in discovery. They spend on experiences: a sunset dinner in Oia, a private boat tour, a wine tasting in Santorini. They are active on Xiaohongshu before, during, and after the trip.

A growing secondary profile is the independent traveler from Tier 2 cities in China, now better connected to Athens via routes like Chengdu. This traveler is younger, more budget-conscious, and more likely to explore beyond the marquee islands. They respond to Zhihu content comparing Greek island options and Xiaohongshu posts showing “affordable Greece” alternatives to Santorini.

What needs to happen for Greece to fulfil its potential

Experts in the space are consistent on three priorities.

1. More direct routes. The Athens-Chengdu route opened a new geography of Chinese travelers. More routes to secondary Chinese cities with high outbound travel rates (Guangzhou, Chongqing, Hangzhou) would each create their own demand spike. The Greek government and airport operators have strong incentives to subsidize these routes.

2. Industry-level adoption of Chinese booking platforms. A coordinated push, led by the Hellenic Tourism Organization, to get Greek hotels and operators onto Ctrip and Fliggy would produce measurable results within one booking season. The barrier is not the platforms: it is the operational knowledge to list and manage properties there.

3. Sustained content investment on Xiaohongshu and Douyin. Destination marketing on Chinese platforms works. A well-run 12-month KOL program for Greece, combining Santorini and Athens coverage with island discovery content, would shift Greece from a “maybe” to a “must” in the Chinese traveler’s Europe planning. The current organic performance is a strong base to build from.

Key market data at a glance

Metric	Data
Chinese arrivals growth Athens (2024)	+30% year-on-year
Direct weekly flights China-Athens (summer 2025)	12 (vs 3 in 2019)
New route opened June 2025	Chengdu-Athens (Sichuan Airlines)
Total tourists to Greece 2025	37.98 million (record)
Tourism as share of Greece GDP	~25%
China outbound trips 2025	155+ million (first time above pre-pandemic)
New codeshare 2026	Aegean + Air China

How to reach Chinese tourists on Xiaohongshu and Douyin

On Xiaohongshu: Greece has genuine organic traction on the platform. Santorini content performs, but the bigger opportunity is in the underserved content categories: Athens history, Cretan food culture, island comparison guides. Destination marketers and businesses that produce practical, honest, photogenic content in these categories can build audience quickly. The competition for Greece keywords on Xiaohongshu is lower than for Paris or Rome. That window will not stay open indefinitely.

On Douyin: Short-form video for Greece sits in the “aspirational Europe” category that performs consistently well. Couple travel content, drone footage of the caldera, Aegean color palettes: these formats collect shares and followers. For industry players, Douyin live selling of Greece packages is an underused channel with growing audience interest. The live format works especially well for romantic destinations where couples watch together and make purchasing decisions together.

See our full guides on Xiaohongshu marketing and Douyin marketing for destination-level strategy.

Want to position your business in the Chinese market for Greece?

The structural case for Greece as a Chinese tourism destination is solid and getting stronger with each new direct flight. The businesses and destinations that invest in Chinese platform presence now will own the market when the numbers scale.

Contact us to discuss your Greece-China tourism strategy.