Athens

Athens, Greece, scores 63 on the CIRA Index of tourism resilience, #112 of 309 destinations. 29 of 29 measures come from public sources, with 72% confidence. Every grade below states its value, period and source.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

CIRA Index: 63
OECD: 58
UN Tourism: 62
UNDRR: 60

Strongest

Hotel bed or room occupancy: 77.1 % average annual occupancy (Athens-Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association (EXAAA) & GBR Consulting via GTP Headlines, 2025). At or above 75: grade 4/4.
Access redundancy: 4 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (metro figure) (Athens International Airport / Hellenic Train / Piraeus Port Authority / Hellenic Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, 2026). At or above 4: grade 4/4.
Recovery against 2019: 140.5 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (region figure) (Bank of Greece, Developments in the balance of travel services: 2024 & 2019, 2024). At or above 110: grade 4/4.

Weakest

Domestic share of nights: 14.6 % of nights by residents of the same country (country figure) (INSETE Intelligence / ELSTAT, INSETE Report 2023, 2023). Below 15: grade 0/4.
Nights in the three busiest months: 52.3 % of annual nights (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: UN Tourism by United Nations World Tourism Organization), 2024, 2025 moving average). Above 50: grade 0/4.
Wastewater safely treated: 52.4 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (UN Statistics Division / WHO / UN-Habitat, SDG Country Profiles, 2024). Between 50 and 70: grade 1/4.

Greece in the World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Development Index

Greece is #21 of 110 countries (4.57 of 7) in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026, which scores countries, not cities. Cities in countries with that WEF score average 63 on the CIRA Index; Athens is right on that.

Every measure, by theme

Demand and seasonality: 67

Nights in the three busiest months: 52.3 % of annual nights (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: UN Tourism by United Nations World Tourism Organization), 2024, 2025 moving average). Above 50: grade 0/4. Source
Domestic share of nights: 14.6 % of nights by residents of the same country (country figure) (INSETE Intelligence / ELSTAT, INSETE Report 2023, 2023). Below 15: grade 0/4. Source
Largest foreign market: 13.8 % of international arrivals or nights (country figure) (Bank of Greece / INSETE Intelligence, Annual Tourism Report, 2023). At or below 15: grade 4/4. Source
Recovery against 2019: 140.5 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (region figure) (Bank of Greece, Developments in the balance of travel services: 2024 & 2019, 2024). At or above 110: grade 4/4. Source
Average length of stay: 5.4 nights per visitor (region figure) (Bank of Greece, Developments in the balance of travel services: 2024, 2024). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4. Source
Hotel bed or room occupancy: 77.1 % average annual occupancy (Athens-Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association (EXAAA) & GBR Consulting via GTP Headlines, 2025). At or above 75: grade 4/4. Source

Economy and jobs: 56

Jobs in tourism industries: 10.9 % of employment in accommodation and food services (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Research by World Travel & Tourism Council; Travel & Tourism by World Travel & Tourism Council), 2026). Between 8 and 12: grade 3/4. Source
Unemployment rate: 8.4 % of the labour force (region figure) (ELSTAT (Hellenic Statistical Authority), Labour Force Survey: 3rd Quarter 2024, Q3 2024). Between 8 and 12: grade 2/4. Source
Income per head: 38,200 GDP per capita, USD PPP (region figure) (Eurostat, Regional Gross Domestic Product (NUTS 2), 2024). Between 30,000 and 45,000: grade 2/4. Source
Economic diversity: 68.7 % of employment outside accommodation, food, retail and transport (region figure) (Eurostat (via Inštitút zamestnanosti, Table [lfst_r_lfe2en2]), 2025). Between 64 and 72: grade 2/4. Source

Climate and hazards: 40

Extreme heat days: 27.6 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Between 15 and 30: grade 2/4. Source
Tropical nights: 98.4 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Between 60 and 100: grade 1/4. Source
Flood hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4. Source
Wildfire and storm hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4. Source
Country disaster risk: 2.9 INFORM Risk index, 0–10 (country figure) (INFORM Risk (European Commission JRC), INFORM Risk Mid 2026, 2026). Between 2 and 3.5: grade 3/4. Source

Water and environment: 50

Water scarcity: low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 3/4. Source
Wastewater safely treated: 52.4 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (UN Statistics Division / WHO / UN-Habitat, SDG Country Profiles, 2024). Between 50 and 70: grade 1/4. Source
Municipal waste per resident: 519 kg per resident per year (country figure) (European Environment Agency (EEA), Country Profile: Waste Management – Greece, 2022). Between 450 and 550: grade 2/4. Source
Green space: 24 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (Husqvarna Urban Green Space Index (HUGSI), 2024). Between 20 and 30: grade 2/4. Source

Community and housing: 63

Tourism intensity: 14 visitor nights per resident per year (country figure) (Eurostat / INSETE, Greece Tourism Statistics Dataset, 2023). Between 10 and 20: grade 2/4. Source
Cruise pressure: not measured yet
Rent growth: 4.8 % change in rents over the last 12 months (region figure) (Spitogatos Property Index (SPI), Q4 2025). Between 3 and 6: grade 3/4. Source
Short-let density: 2.9 short-term rental listings per 100 dwellings (Airbtics / Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) 2021 Census via Athens Social Atlas, 2025–2026). Between 2 and 4: grade 1/4. Source
Resident support for tourism: 82.4 % of residents who say tourism benefits them or the city (country figure) (ETERON - Institute for Research and Social Change, 2024). At or above 70: grade 4/4. Source

Access and continuity: 79

Access redundancy: 4 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (metro figure) (Athens International Airport / Hellenic Train / Piraeus Port Authority / Hellenic Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, 2026). At or above 4: grade 4/4. Source
Air traffic recovery: not measured yet
Rail share of intercity access: not measured yet
Rail traffic recovery: not measured yet
Largest airline group share: not measured yet
Air route concentration: not measured yet
Early warning and emergency plan: An updated city plan with public early warning for heat, flood or fire (Municipality of Athens - #CoolAthens & C40 Cities, 2024-2026). Grade 3/4. Source
Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A written destination crisis plan (UN Tourism (UNWTO) & European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), 2023). Grade 2/4. Source
Government effectiveness: 61.3 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). Between 60 and 80: grade 3/4. Source
Travel advisory: 1 stricter of the US and Canadian government advisory for the country, 1 (normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel) (country figure) (US State Department and Government of Canada travel advisories, 2026-09-29). At or below 1: grade 4/4. Source
Dedicated tourism funding: A dedicated source partly ring-fenced for residents, infrastructure or sustainability (Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) / Greek Law 5073/2023 & Law 5162/2024, 2024-2026). Grade 3/4. Source

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