Greece Sees Its Restaurants Sales A Twenty Percent Drop As Tourists Choose Supermarket Meals Despite Record Growth Of Visitor Arrivals In This Year

Published on September 10, 2025

In Greece, nan edifice manufacture is having a reliable summertime contempt grounds overseas tourer arrivals successful nan country. Industry members opportunity astir visitors are opting for supermarket nutrient aliases preparing meals astatine short-term rentals instead, resulting successful restaurants losing 20% of their income from nan erstwhile year. This has been peculiarly evident successful nan celebrated vacation areas, further compounded by escalating operating expenses that are putting further unit connected an already ailing catering industry.

The move to supermarket shopping is drastically altering nan behaviour of travelers, particularly those trying to trim costs associated pinch walking while still enjoying Greece’s beautiful places. While nan presence of overseas visitors continues to break records, nan edifice assemblage is noticing nan effects of this alteration successful eating patterns.

Tourist Behavior Shift: From Dining Out to Supermarket Meals

More travelers are choosing to hole meals themselves alternatively than eating retired astatine accepted restaurants. Supermarkets are seeing a surge successful sales, particularly connected nan islands and successful regions for illustration Crete, wherever visitors are opting for ready-made meals and grocery shopping arsenic much affordable alternatives to eating out.

Industry information reveals a increasing inclination among visitors who are taking advantage of short-term rentals, wherever kitchens are disposable for self-catering. This cost-effective option allows visitors to bask caller section produce, prepared meals, and affordable groceries without having to salary higher edifice prices.

Supermarket Sales Surge successful Greece: A 7.8% Increase successful 2025

Supermarkets successful Greece are reporting strong growth, particularly successful celebrated tourist regions. According to NielsenIQ data, supermarket sales crossed nan state accrued by 7.8% successful 2025, reaching a full worth of €10.44 billion by August 24. This emergence successful income has been chiefly driven by accrued purchases successful nan food and beverage sector, which climbed 7.5%, while fresh produce and products sold by weight surged 11.5%.

Regional maturation has been particularly beardown successful island Greece, wherever income accrued by 11.3%, pinch Crete seeing an awesome emergence of 9.7%. The island’s tourism-driven request for section nutrient items, including caller ingredients and ready-to-eat meals, highlights really visitors are shifting their spending habits towards self-catering solutions.

Rising Operating Costs: Challenges for nan Catering Sector

The restaurant sector successful Greece is facing further challenges beyond nan alteration successful tourer behavior. Rising operating costs person added to nan strain connected businesses, particularly erstwhile coupled pinch nan reduced footfall and smaller orders from some foreign and home customers. Restaurants, bars, and cafes are struggling to support profit margins arsenic ingredient prices climb and staffing costs rise.

Many mini and medium-sized restaurants are uncovering it difficult to equilibrium nan demands of tourist inflows pinch nan rising costs of running operations, which see rent, utilities, and labour. This has led to immoderate establishments scaling backmost services aliases moreover cutting backmost connected operating hours to header pinch nan financial strain.

The Growing Popularity of Self-Catering Tourism successful Greece

The inclination of self-catering tourism, wherever visitors hole their ain meals, has grown peculiarly successful destinations pinch a precocious number of short-term rental properties. Cities and islands successful Greece, specified arsenic Santorini, Mykonos, and Crete, which person traditionally been known for their luxury resorts and eating options, are now seeing greater request for apartments and picnic homes that connection kitchen facilities. This displacement is particularly celebrated among visitors who are seeking affordable ways to bask their enactment without nan other costs of eating retired astatine restaurants each day.

Additionally, nan emergence of food transportation services and online market shopping platforms successful Greece has made it moreover much convenient for travelers to prepare meals during their visit, offering them much elasticity pinch their eating choices.

Economic Implications: Tourism and Local Businesses successful Greece

While supermarket sales successful Greece are growing, this displacement toward supermarket meals is having a mixed impact connected nan local economy. On 1 hand, supermarkets and section markets are benefiting from accrued sales, but nan restaurant sector is losing retired connected imaginable gross from eating tourists. Many local restaurants and food vendors trust heavy connected tourists’ spending during nan highest season, and nan alteration successful restaurant visits could lead to job losses and business closures successful immoderate areas.

The diminution successful edifice gross besides affects tax revenue for section governments, arsenic good arsenic nan broader tourism ecosystem. With less visitors eating astatine restaurants, location are less opportunities for tourism-related businesses to profit, which could dampen wide tourism growth successful nan country.

A Call for Adjustments: The Need for Adaptation successful nan Tourism Sector

Experts propose that nan Greek tourism industry must accommodate to these changing trends by embracing nan increasing request for self-catering tourism and affordable recreation experiences. One attack could beryllium to combine accepted eating experiences pinch flexible options for tourists, specified arsenic offering meal packages, local nutrient tours, aliases cooking classes that let visitors to study really to make authentic Greek dishes successful nan comfortableness of their rented accommodation.

Restaurants could besides innovate by offering discounts for longer stays aliases creating specialized menus that cater to visitors seeking much budget-friendly options. Additionally, offering premium repast experiences and fine eating events for visitors consenting to splurge connected a high-quality acquisition could besides beryllium a measurement for nan manufacture to adapt.

Looking Ahead: A Balancing Act for nan Greek Tourism Sector

While nan diminution successful edifice visits presents challenges for nan hospitality sector, it besides highlights nan imaginable for tourism diversification successful Greece. With supermarkets seeing growth, there’s an opportunity for Greece to research new models of tourism that incorporated self-catering options, local experiences, and cultural immersion into nan country’s tourism offerings.

Balancing traditional dining, local nutrient experiences, and self-catering options could thief Greece stay a top destination for tourists while ensuring its tourism industry continues to thrive and germinate pinch nan changing needs of travelers.

Embracing New Trends successful Greek Tourism

Greece’s tourism manufacture is changing arsenic supermarket income increase, indicating nan expanding fame of self-catering tourism. As nan preferences of visitors alteration and much visitors move to cheaper options, nan hospitality manufacture needs to respond to these changes to stay competitive. By making room for indigenous nutrient experiences, low-cost dining, and taste immersion, Greece’s tourism system tin support increasing and stay a apical European destination.