The Greek tourism of 2025, not only repeats, but, as it seems, surpasses last year’s success and the mood in Greek hotels is full of optimism, as reflected in the latest Booking.com Barometer, according to which the European tourism industry as a whole is in a phase of optimism.
Hospitality entrepreneurs appear particularly optimistic about their economic growth compared to any previous Barometer survey, with 75% rating their current financial situation as (very) good, compared to 46% in the previous survey.
Expectations for the 2025 tourist season are higher than ever, with an overwhelming majority of 85% predicting that the economic situation will develop (very) positively in the coming months, while at the same time the corresponding percentage in the German hotel market is at an all-time low of just 33%.
Meanwhile, more than half of Greek hoteliers (55%) reported that the average daily room rate has increased significantly in the last 6 months, while in terms of the occupancy rate 41% reported an increase. On a positive note, 53% of Greek hoteliers experienced no difficulty in accessing finance and capital, compared to 20% in the previous survey.
In fact, 20% will make more investments than in the last 6 months, while 16% will make fewer investments than in the last 6 months.
The challenges
78% of European hoteliers acknowledged that energy costs remain the number one risk facing hotels in Europe. This is followed by labour-related concerns such as staff costs (65%) and lack of skilled workers (61%).
Other risk factors such as potential tax increases (58%), geopolitical uncertainties (55%) and bureaucracy (53%) also weigh on European hoteliers.
High energy costs were most strongly felt in Greece and Spain, where 93% and 88% of respondents, respectively, said it was a significant risk. On the other hand, Germany, Austria and Portugal were more sensitive to challenges related to staff costs (77%, 75% and 70%, respectively).
Greek hoteliers were also particularly concerned by potential tax increases (75%) and geopolitical uncertainties (70%).
Greek hoteliers focus on recruitment and investment in human resources
Mobility is observed in the direction of recruitment in the European hotel market, while it is even greater in the Greek market, with the number of recruitments in Greek hotel companies employing more than 10 employees in the next 12 months to be 8.8%, the highest level in Europe.
At the same time, the vast majority of 85% of Greek hoteliers reported (very) positive expectations for the future – the highest percentage among all European countries.
The European average is 4.9 recruitments in the coming 12 months and positive expectations from 80% of hotels for the future of employment in them.
Almost two out of three operators in Greece plan to maintain their level of investment in training, while 1 in 5 intend to increase their commitment to staff training.
The recruitment of skilled human resources, both at European and Greek level, remains a problem, mainly in management, marketing, sales, event organisation, as well as in the wellness and leisure sectors.
The main challenges in recruiting suitable candidates, both for Greek and European hospitality companies, are expectations in terms of salaries, working hours and job stability.
Greek hospitality businesses also stand out for their emphasis on ongoing staff training, with almost two out of three operators in Greece planning to maintain their level of investment in training, while 1 in 5 intend to increase their commitment to staff training.
At the same time, Greek hoteliers maintain a positive attitude towards the adoption of AI tools in all areas, especially in marketing (66%), customer service (63%) and revenue management (61%). However, two out of three hoteliers cite high implementation costs as the main barrier to the adoption of digital technologies and AI.
The survey
The survey was conducted by Statista between 24 February and 22 April 2025, via telephone interviews with a sample of 1. 160 hotel executives and managers from the European hotel industry, 80 from each country and region, including Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Slovakia.
