Heraklion

Heraklion, Greece, scores 60 on the CIRA Index of tourism resilience, #140 of 309 destinations. 26 of 29 measures come from public sources, with 74% confidence. Every grade below states its value, period and source.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: 60
• OECD: 54
• UN Tourism: 64
• UNDRR: 60

Strongest

• Average length of stay: 7.7 nights per visitor (region figure) (INSETE Intelligence, 'Ποιος πάει πού; Πόσο μένει; Πόσα ξοδεύει;' (Who goes where? How long do they stay? How much do they spend?), 2025). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4.
• Water scarcity: very low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 4/4.
• Resident support for tourism: 89.9 % of residents who say tourism benefits them or the city (region figure) (Accounting and Financial Management Laboratory of the Hellenic Mediterranean University (ELMEPA) / ΟΙΚΟΔΟΜiN, 2024). At or above 70: grade 4/4.

Weakest

• Domestic share of nights: 9.9 % of nights by residents of the same country (country figure) (ELSTAT (Hellenic Statistical Authority), September 2025). Below 15: grade 0/4.
• Tourism intensity: 56.4 visitor nights per resident per year (region figure) (ELSTAT / Eurostat, 2024). Above 40: grade 0/4.
• Nights in the three busiest months: 54 % of annual nights (region figure) (INSETE Intelligence / ELSTAT, 2024). Above 50: grade 0/4.

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; Heraklion is 3 below that.

Every measure, by theme

Demand and seasonality: 38

• Nights in the three busiest months: 54 % of annual nights (region figure) (INSETE Intelligence / ELSTAT, 2024). Above 50: grade 0/4. Source
• Domestic share of nights: 9.9 % of nights by residents of the same country (country figure) (ELSTAT (Hellenic Statistical Authority), September 2025). Below 15: grade 0/4. Source
• Largest foreign market: 44.5 % of international arrivals or nights (Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA) via Greek Trip Planner Research, 2025). Above 40: grade 0/4. Source
• Recovery against 2019: 106 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (region figure) (INSETE Intelligence, 'Η ακτινογραφία του ελληνικού τουρισμού στις 13 Περιφέρειες της χώρας', 2023). Between 100 and 110: grade 3/4. Source
• Average length of stay: 7.7 nights per visitor (region figure) (INSETE Intelligence, 'Ποιος πάει πού; Πόσο μένει; Πόσα ξοδεύει;' (Who goes where? How long do they stay? How much do they spend?), 2025). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4. Source
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 63 % average annual occupancy (region figure) (INSETE (Institute of the Greek Tourism Enterprises), 2023). Between 55 and 65: grade 2/4. Source

Economy and jobs: 69

• 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: 6.9 % of the labour force (region figure) (Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) Labour Force Survey / The Kolymbari Courier, Q4 2025). Between 5 and 8: grade 3/4. Source
• Income per head: 45,264 GDP per capita, USD PPP (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). Between 45,000 and 60,000: grade 3/4. Source
• Economic diversity: 67.5 % of employment outside accommodation, food, retail and transport (region figure) (Eurostat / Inštitút zamestnanosti (Table lfst_r_lfe2en2), 2025). Between 64 and 72: grade 2/4. Source

Climate and hazards: 45

• Extreme heat days: 8 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Between 5 and 15: grade 3/4. Source
• Tropical nights: 102.8 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Above 100: grade 0/4. Source
• Flood hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4. 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: 75

• Water scarcity: very low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 4/4. Source
• Wastewater safely treated: 92.1 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (United Nations Global SDG Database / WHO / UN-Habitat (Indicator 6.3.1), 2024). Between 85 and 95: grade 3/4. 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: not measured yet

Community and housing: 50

• Tourism intensity: 56.4 visitor nights per resident per year (region figure) (ELSTAT / Eurostat, 2024). Above 40: grade 0/4. Source
• Cruise pressure: not measured yet
• Rent growth: not measured yet
• Short-let density: not measured yet
• Resident support for tourism: 89.9 % of residents who say tourism benefits them or the city (region figure) (Accounting and Financial Management Laboratory of the Hellenic Mediterranean University (ELMEPA) / ΟΙΚΟΔΟΜiN, 2024). At or above 70: grade 4/4. Source

Access and continuity: 71

• Access redundancy: 3 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Municipality of Heraklion / Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, 2024). Between 3 and 4: grade 3/4. 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 Heraklion & Ministry for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, 2024). Grade 3/4. Source
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: Crisis communication only, ad hoc (Region of Crete Tourism Directorate / Ministry of Tourism, 2024). Grade 1/4. 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 (Greek Ministry of National Economy and Finance / Law 5073/2023, 2024). Grade 3/4. Source

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