ATHENS, October 2026 — Serbian tourists in Greece are spreading beyond Halkidiki to the Cyclades, Crete and the Ionian islands, a Serbian travel outlet reported, as Greece stayed their top foreign destination in 2026.
Greece welcomed 800,317 visitors from Serbia in 2025, up about 20 per cent on 2024, according to figures from the Serbian site Kulturizam. They spent almost 2.8 million nights in Greece.
The typical Serbian visitor is no longer only the parent who loads the car and drives to Halkidiki, the article said.
Kulturizam set out the trend in an article republished by the Serbian television network N1. It concluded that Greece does not depend on Serbs, but that they matter a great deal to Greek tourism.
“Does Greece live off Serbs? No. Are Serbs important for Greek tourism? Absolutely,” the article said.
Serbian tourists in Greece by the numbers
Greece received about 38 million international visitors in 2025, a record for arrivals and revenue, the article said. As a result, Serbian tourists in Greece form a significant but not dominant share of the market.
Traditionally, they head for Halkidiki, Thessaloniki, Thasos and Pieria, mainly because they can reach them by road, Kulturizam said.
For families from Belgrade or southern Serbia, that means no plane tickets, baggage limits or car hire. Road travel between the two countries also became easier with a shared toll payment app.
Many Serbian tourists in Greece return every year to the same rooms and beach, the article said. These visits build strong ties with local communities.
In August, resorts such as Pefkochori, Nikiti, Neos Marmaras and Paralia Katerinis can feel like Serbian seaside towns, the article said. Serbian number plates fill car parks, while people speak Serbian in the bakeries.
By contrast, visitors on Crete, Rhodes and Santorini come mostly from western and northern Europe and other international markets.
New islands and direct flights
However, demand from Serbian tourists in Greece now reaches beyond the northern resorts, according to the article. More Serbian travellers now look to Crete, Corfu, the Cyclades, the Peloponnese and the Ionian islands.
The return of a direct Belgrade–Santorini flight and a link to Mykonos point to that change, Kulturizam said. A growing share of the market wants new experiences beyond the traditional sun-and-sea holiday.
Still, the 2019 record stands, when about 1.027 million Serbians visited Greece. The pandemic halted that growth, but the 2025 figures show a strong recovery, the article said.
Northern Greece also draws summer visitors from Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, Hungary and Poland, the article said. Greece is a leading destination for both air and road travel in Europe.
Serbian tourists in Greece remain an important source of visitors and revenue for Macedonia and the North Aegean islands, according to the article.
Source: Ta Nea
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