The number of visitors via air flights to the South Aegean exceeded 4 million, while the increase in arrivals to the islands of the South Aegean in the first twenty days of August reached 16%.

In an announcement by the South Aegean Initiative for Tourism, the South Aegean region has succeeded in surpassing the last record year, 2019, and is enjoying the benefits of a successful and safe health management plan.

Objectively, there is talk of an excess, since from March 27, when the 2022 tourist season began, earlier than ever, until August 21, it is consistently higher in international arrivals compared to the historical record of 2019. Specifically, every month of the current tourist season is completed by consistently achieving more arrivals compared to the corresponding month of 2019.

The first twenty days of August close with an increase of 16%, always compared to the corresponding period of 2019, sealing 2022 as the best for tourism in the history of the islands.

In particular, all four international airports of the South Aegean set record arrivals. Rhodes, Kos, Mykonos and Santorini, for which there is comparative data,  attracted more than 700,000 passengers from August 1 to 21. In particular, Rhodes has already exceeded 1.7 million visitors from abroad, Kos has welcomed more than 800,000, Karpathos is approaching 57,000, Mykonos 450,000, while Santorini has exceeded half a million international arrivals. Adding together the passengers who have arrived from April to July, via “Eleftherios Venizelos” to the airports of the South Aegean islands, the international arrivals already exceed, even before the end of August, 4 million.

Finally, all indications from bookings and flight scheduling point to high numbers of arrivals for the remainder of August and the beginning of the fall.

The South Aegean Tourism Initiative was created in 2020 to promote and protect the image of the South Aegean as a tourist destination, and works for its unified coordination and joint representation both domestically and internationally.

This article was previously published in Greek at moneyreview.gr.