Developments in the balance of travel services: December 2025
24/02/2026 - Press Releases
- The balance of travel services posted a surplus of €313.2 million in December 2025 and of €20,255.2 million in the year 2025.
- Travel receipts rose by 33.0% in December 2025 and by 9.4% in the year 2025.
- Inbound traveller flows grew by 49.0% in December 2025 and by 5.6% in the year 2025.
Balance of travel services
Based on provisional data, the balance of travel services in December 2025 showed a surplus of €313.2 million, up by 83.5% from a surplus of €170.7 million in December 2024. More specifically, travel receipts rose by 33.0% to €623.0 million in December 2025, from €468.6 million in December 2024, while travel payments also increased by 4.0% (December 2025: €309.9 million, December 2024: €297.9 million). The rise in travel receipts stemmed from a 49.0% increase in inbound traveller flows, as average expenditure per trip fell by 10.6%. Net travel receipts offset 8.8% of the goods deficit and contributed 75.2% to total net receipts from services.
In the year 2025, the balance of travel services showed a surplus of €20,255.2 million, up from a surplus of €18,787.0 million in 2024. Travel receipts rose by €2,033.7 million, or 9.4%, to €23,626.0 million, while travel payments also increased by €565.5 million, or 20.2%, to €3,370.8 million. The rise in travel receipts was driven by a 5.6% increase in inbound traveller flows and a 3.8% rise in average expenditure per trip. Net travel receipts offset 59.9% of the goods deficit and contributed 89.0% to total net receipts from services.
Travel receipts
In December 2025, as previously mentioned, travel receipts rose by 33.0% year-on-year. In more detail, receipts from residents of the EU27 rose by 10.9% to €295.1 million, as did receipts from residents of other countries, by 63.3% (December 2025: €322.4 million, December 2024: 197.4 million). The rise in travel receipts from within the EU27 was driven by a 154.3% increase in receipts from non-euro area residents (December 2025: €82.9 million, December 2024: €32.6 million), while receipts from euro area residents declined by 9.1% to €212.2 million.
Specifically, among major euro area countries of origin, receipts from Germany dropped by 10.0% to €60.3 million. Receipts from France also dropped by 13.5% to €15.9 million, whereas receipts from Italy grew by 59.4% to €31.4 million. Turning to other countries, receipts from the United Kingdom increased by 176.0% to €83.8 million, while receipts from the United States rose by 6.1% to €55.5 million. No receipts were recorded from Russia.
In the year 2025, travel receipts totalled €23,626.0 million, up by 9.4% relative to 2024. This development is attributed to increases in receipts from EU27 residents by 6.1% to €12,695.9 million and in receipts from residents of other countries by 14.7% to €9,890.9 million. In greater detail, receipts from euro area residents rose by 4.0% to €9,853.9 million and receipts from residents of non-euro area EU27 countries increased by 14.1% to €2,842.0 million.
Specifically, receipts from Germany grew by 2.2% to €3,784.0 million, as did receipts from France, by 5.9% to €1,333.7 million. Receipts from Italy also increased, by 5.1% to €1,287.6 million. Turning to other countries, receipts from the United Kingdom grew by 18.5% to €3,744.3 million, while receipts from the United States increased by 8.5% to €1,717.8 million. Lastly, receipts from Russia stood at €23.8 million.
Inbound traveller flows
The number of inbound travellers in December 2025 rose by 49.0% year-on-year to 1,315.0 thousand. Specifically, traveller flows through airports increased by 34.9% year-on-year, while traveller flows through road border-crossing points grew by 80.5%. The overall increase was due to higher traveller flows from both EU27 countries (up by 61.7%) and other countries (up by 36.6%). In greater detail, the number of travellers from within the euro area rose by 22.8% to 411.5 thousand, while travellers from non-euro area EU27 countries increased by 190.9% to 293.7 thousand.
Specifically, the number of travellers from Germany rose by 85.1% to 136.1 thousand, while travellers from France declined by 14.2% to 36.0 thousand. Travellers from Italy increased by 83.5% to 59.4 thousand. Turning to other countries, the number of travellers from the United Kingdom increased by 117.9% to 117.2 thousand, whereas travellers from the United States declined by 8.7% to 60.9 thousand. Finally, no travellers were recorded from Russia.
Over the year 2025, the number of inbound visitors rose by 5.6% to 37,981.1 thousand from 35,951.4 thousand, in 2024. Specifically, traveller flows through airports increased by 5.6%, while traveller flows through road border-crossing points grew by 6.9%. In the period under review, the number of travellers from within the EU27 rose by 2.8% year-on-year to 22,414.7 thousand, as did the number of travellers from other countries, by 10.0% to 15,566.4 thousand. Travellers from within the euro area increased by 7.1%, whereas travellers from non-euro area EU27 countries declined by 5.7%.
Specifically, the number of travellers from Germany rose by 10.2% to 5,951.4 thousand, whereas the number of travellers from France decreased by 0.5% to 1,983.4 thousand. Travellers from Italy increased by 8.6% to 2,200.5 thousand. Turning to other countries, the number of travellers from the United Kingdom rose by 7.6% to 4,893.1 thousand, as did the number of travellers from the United States, by 0.2% to 1,550.8 thousand. Finally, the number of travellers from Russia stood at 21.5 thousand.
Note:
Inbound traveller flows exclude cruise passengers other than those recorded in the Border Survey.
Related information:
The next Press Release on “Developments in the balance of travel services” for January 2026 will be published on 24 March 2026, in accordance with the Advance Release Calendar posted on the Bank of Greece website.
Related link:
Detailed and final data on the balance of travel services are published in the Travel services section of the Bank of Greece website.