The number of British tourists travelling to Greece has risen for the third year running.
In the period from January to August 2016, Greece saw a 7.7% increase of arrivals from the UK, welcoming approximately 1.9 million UK visitors compared to 1.8 million in the same period last year, with a staggering 14% in August alone.
Christina Kalogera, director of the Greek National Tourism Organisation UK and Ireland office, said: "2016 has seen the third consecutive year of growth in tourism to Greece from the UK. Financial and political stability have contributed to this growth but continuing investment in the tourism product has resulted in a dynamic choice for discerning visitors."
Looking set to boost figures further for next year, Jet2 has announced it will fly to four new Greek destinations for summer 2017 from its new base at Stansted Airport. Flights will depart to Crete (Heraklion), Kos, Rhodes and Zante increasing further opportunities for travellers from the south east.
Speaking at World Travel Market, Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura, said: "2016 has been a great year for Greek tourism. By the end of the year, international arrivals are expected to exceed 27 million including cruise, which is a new record for Greece.
"The growing demand in the UK for travelling to Greece means that several airlines and tour operators have already organised new flights and routes for 2017. British travellers are very loyal and the numbers are growing year-on-year."
Kountoura added that she wanted to establish Greece as a year-round destination and that the tourism organisation had been working hard to extend the season from the middle of March to the middle of November.
She said: "The right time has come for Greece to expose the variety of our destination and range of our experiences we have year-round to satisfy the most demanding of visitors.
"?We are attracting visitors from new markets but we are also reinforcing our presence in dynamic markets such as the UK, which has been, and continues to be a market of high importance to us."
Early indications of bookings for 2017 reveal a year-on-year increase of 23%.
