Athens vs Istanbul

Athens leads Istanbul by 7 points on the CIRA Index, 63 to 56. Athens grades better on 9 measures, Istanbul on 9; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Athens 63, Istanbul 56
• OECD: Athens 58, Istanbul 55
• UN Tourism: Athens 62, Istanbul 58
• UNDRR: Athens 60, Istanbul 49

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Athens 67, Istanbul 50
• Economy and jobs: Athens 56, Istanbul 67
• Climate and hazards: Athens 40, Istanbul 45
• Water and environment: Athens 50, Istanbul 50
• Community and housing: Athens 63, Istanbul 58
• Access and continuity: Athens 79, Istanbul 63

Where Athens is stronger

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Water scarcity: low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 3/4.
• 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.
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A written destination crisis plan (UN Tourism (UNWTO) & European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), 2023). Grade 2/4.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Where Istanbul is stronger

• Nights in the three busiest months: 38.3 % of annual nights (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: UN Tourism by United Nations World Tourism Organization), 2024, 2025 moving average). Between 35 and 40: grade 2/4.
• Domestic share of nights: 24.8 % of nights by residents of the same country (region figure) (T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı / İstanbul İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü, Turizm İstatistikleri Raporu (Ağustos 2025), 2024). Between 15 and 25: grade 1/4.
• Jobs in tourism industries: 6.3 % 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). At or below 8: grade 4/4.
• Extreme heat days: 2.8 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Tropical nights: 59.8 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Between 30 and 60: grade 2/4.
• Wastewater safely treated: 78.3 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (TurkStat via Türkiye Today, 'Türkiye’s water use, wastewater output continue to rise, TurkStat report shows', 2024). Between 70 and 85: grade 2/4.
• Municipal waste per resident: 425.2 kg per resident per year (metro figure) (İSTAÇ / Waste Management Association (WMA), 'How a city of 20 million people manages waste: Istanbul's experience', 2023). Between 350 and 450: grade 3/4.
• Tourism intensity: 2 visitor nights per resident per year (region figure) (İstanbul İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü & TÜİK, 2024). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Short-let density: 0.6 short-term rental listings per 100 dwellings (Inside Airbnb (Istanbul overview) and TÜİK (Bina ve Konut Nitelikleri Araştırması), 2024–2025). Between 0.5 and 1: grade 3/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• Greece: #21 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• Turkey: #36 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Athens in full · Istanbul in full

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