Ticket sales and weekend travel to nearby islands have dropped sharply, with some operators estimating about a 50% fall versus last year. Beaches, loungers and watersports businesses that once filled early in the day are notably emptier this summer, even on popular Aegina where more than two million visitors arrived in 2024. Economic pressure and cost considerations are prompting shorter and fewer vacations: one in two Greeks will not go on holiday this year and average leave has fallen from weeks to less than a week. Travel costs for families with cars can exceed €450, pricing many out.
From a booth facing the ferries moored at Piraeus, Tassos Papadopoulos cuts tickets for passengers heading to the isles of the Saronic Gulf. It's 5pm on a hot summer's day and through the sun-streaked haze he takes in the cars and trucks lining up to cross the steel ramp into the hold of the Aegina-bound vessel. Last year the queues were much longer.
Immortalised by singers and songwriters, poets and cinematographers, the carefree joys of summer have, for many, fallen prey to the harsh reality of making ends meet. Our studies show that one in two Greeks will not go on holiday this year, says Takis Kalofonos, chief financial adviser at EKKE, the union of working consumers of Greece. Whereas 10 years ago people would take 20 or even 30 days off, this summer it's less than a week.
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