With international participation, the presence of institutional representatives, top professionals in the industry, and opinion leaders, the Destination Weddings Tourism Forum – Greece 2026 was held, highlighting Greece’s potential as a top destination for destination weddings. The Minister of Tourism, Ms. Olga Kefalogianni, and the Deputy Minister of Culture, Mr. Iasonas Fotilas, addressed the conference.
Ms. Kefalogianni emphasized that wedding tourism is a demanding and high-value travel experience that combines hospitality, accommodation, transportation, gastronomy, and specialized organization, aiming to take care of every detail and create a meaningful relationship with the visitor. Greece, with its light, history, culture, authenticity, and the warmth of its people, is emerging as a destination of high added value that strengthens its identity. The digital transformation of the official Visit Greece portal is underway, leveraging artificial intelligence to showcase more targeted experiences, while the strategy focuses on markets such as North America, Canada, the Middle East, East Asia, and India. The central goal remains to provide experiences with professionalism, reliability, through a coordinated effort of all stakeholders.
At the same time, Mr. Fotilas focused on the initiative of the wedding tourism agency, which is a conceptually bold and innovative narrative for the industry, as Greece has a unique, irreproducible natural and cultural capital that combines light, landscapes, history, memory and tradition. Visitors do not just act as observers, but as participants in an experience that creates indelible memories and accompanies them over time. However, this approach requires responsibility, as natural, cultural and intangible heritage must be treated with consistency and respect. In this context, the value of a destination is not only reflected in the number of visitors or events, but also in how authentic, worthy and intact it remains over time.
The central point of the conference was the presentation of the research “Saying Yes to Greece-Destination Weddings in Greece: The Market’s Portrayal” by Focus Bari, presented by the founder of the company. Xenia Kourtoglou, who for the first time shows the real picture and the prospects of the industry in a comprehensive way.
The key findings show that the average budget per destination wedding is €160,000 (excluding VAT), while each wedding involves approximately 130 guests and 4 overnight stays, significantly boosting total tourism spending. The total annual economic contribution can reach up to 2.5 billion euros. At the same time, 77% of the weddings managed by wedding planners involve couples from abroad, with the main markets being the US, the UK, Australia, and Israel, while new dynamic markets are emerging, such as India and the countries of the Middle East.
Regarding India, and through the presentation of Pramod Lunawat, CEO of Millennium Event & Marriageuana, it was revealed that Indian destination weddings can reach a budget of 1 million euros for a three-day wedding with 300 guests, creating significant local economic activity.
As for the new trends in wedding tourism, they are shifting towards multi-day weddings, with an emphasis on authentic local experiences, personalized planning, high-level gastronomy, and pre- and post-wedding activities.
Finally, the strengthening of the country’s international profile as a wedding destination, combined with facilitating access to historical sites and monuments, the development and upgrading of venues and infrastructure, the promotion of new destinations beyond the already popular ones, as well as a strong digital presence through the use of online channels, are key demands of the industry for the further development of wedding tourism.
