Greeks are choosing to travel abroad, mainly in traditional Christmas destinations such as Vienna, Paris, Geneva, as well as Krakow, Helsinki and Oslo, according to Aegean Airlines.
The offers of the previous period and mainly the need for mini-vacations boosted the demand for flights both for Christmas and New Year, with the occupancy rates on most of the 145 routes of Aegean’s network in 100 destinations exceeding 80%-85% or in some cases even 90%, just 10 days before Christmas.
Aegean has increased the number of seats available during this year’s holiday season, in order to serve the increased demand, and its crews will begin welcoming holiday travelers from the end of the week.
According to the company, traffic during the Christmas period is at higher levels compared to last year, which demonstrates the high demand of Greeks for leisure travel during the holiday season.
More specifically, Aegean has increased the number of seats available during this year’s holiday season, by approximately 5%, both on the domestic and international networks, and always compared to the same period in 2023, seeking to maintain the strong desire to travel recorded in the last two years.
Foreign Christmas destinations
Greeks seem to prefer traveling abroad, mainly to the “traditional” Christmas destinations.
The top 5 foreign destinations for Christmas 2024 and New Year 2025, according to Aegean’s bookings, are:
-from Athens to Lisbon, Geneva, Copenhagen, Vienna, Paris
-from Thessaloniki to Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich.
The choices of Greeks continue to include destinations that are less “traditional”, but certainly “winter”, such as Krakow, Helsinki, and Oslo.
This trend is also confirmed by the bookings made through travel agencies.
With European capitals such as Vienna, London, Paris, Switzerland, as well as major German cities being on the list of preference of Greeks, while distant destinations such as Vietnam, Japan, Cuba and Brazil are also of particular interest.
However, one can also find last-minute opportunities in destinations such as Istanbul, Naples, Rome, Amsterdam from Athens and Milan, Brussels, Amsterdam from Thessaloniki.
Domestic destinations
The top 5 domestic destinations from Athens are Heraklion, Alexandroupoli, Ioannina, Mytilene and Rhodes. From Thessaloniki are Rhodes, Chania, Mytilene, Heraklion and Chios.
