Athens vs Rhodes

Athens leads Rhodes by 13 points on the CIRA Index, 63 to 50. Athens grades better on 7 measures, Rhodes on 3; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Athens 63, Rhodes 50
• OECD: Athens 58, Rhodes 49
• UN Tourism: Athens 62, Rhodes 52
• UNDRR: Athens 60, Rhodes 62

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Athens 67, Rhodes 46
• Economy and jobs: Athens 56, Rhodes 75
• Climate and hazards: Athens 40, Rhodes 35
• Water and environment: Athens 50, Rhodes 38
• Community and housing: Athens 63, Rhodes 25
• Access and continuity: Athens 79, Rhodes 79

Where Athens is stronger

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Where Rhodes is stronger

• Unemployment rate: 7.1 % of the labour force (region figure) (Eurostat / EURES (Labour Market Information: Greece, dataset lfst_r_lfu3rt), 2023). Between 5 and 8: grade 3/4.
• 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.
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A plan tested in an exercise or a real event, with lessons published (Greek Ministry of Tourism / Gov.gr, 2023–2024). Grade 4/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

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

Athens in full · Rhodes in full

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