Athens Airport’s Top Markets – CHINA

The Greek Travel Pages GTP.gr is bringing the Athens market in the spotlight with the publication of a series of articles  providing an insight to Athens TOP and most interesting markets.

The published article is available at this link.

A sneak peek at the article below: 

Market Analysis VI: Athens Airport’s Top Markets – CHINA

Our next stop is… CHINA. This week our attention is turned to Asia and China in specific, as a significant and highly promising market for Athens and Greece. 2019 was Athens’ best year for the Chinese market both in Direct traffic and in overall market size. For the same year (2019), 9 in 10 passengers from China travelled Indirectly connecting via other airports to reach Athens.

In addition and as per the Ministry of Migration and Asylum of the Hellenic Republic official statistics, China is the 2nd largest migration population in Greece with 30,300 Chinese residents (permit) as of June 2024. This is a solid and strong base for year-round VFR traffic (Visiting Friends and Relatives). Furthermore, Greece is the first European “stop” of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, the sea route of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Greece was the first European country to formally join the BRI in August 2018; a year later, it became a member of the Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries – Greece’s Bilateral Relations (mfa.gr). In China’s New Maritime Silk Road, the “Dragon’s head” is the Greek Port of Piraeus in Athens, as President Xi put it. Greece’s largest and Europe’s seventh-largest port has become the cornerstone of multifaceted and growing Chinese investment in the country.

As travel restrictions to China due to the pandemic eased at the 2nd half of 2023, the comparison to 2019 is the most representative of the Chinese market dynamics in the post-pandemic era. The Chinese market ranked 15th in terms of foreign arrivals and 39th in direct traffic in 2019.

Direct traffic for the first 7 months of 2024 is recording strong growth rates at 66%, compared to the same period 2019. In terms of foreign arrivals (Tourism), the Chinese market is growing by 51% to 2019.

As of July 2024, Athens already reached 91% of the Chinese total direct traffic levels for full 2019. This spectacular growth of traffic is driven by the introduction of Shanghai, Athens newest destination in April 2024, with Juneyao Air, the growth of weekly frequencies from Beijing by Air China and the upgrade/further increase of capacity as Air China is operating the brand-new Airbus A350 aircraft type on the route.

All in all, Athens is benefiting by the 9 weekly departures to China (peak summer season), when compared to 3 weekly during the pre-pandemic era.

Use this link to read the full article!

 A word from us: On behalf of Athens International Airport a big thank you to the  operating carriers for their “vote of trust” in the Athens market and the wonderful collaboration!

Firmly committed to continuing working closely together with our airline colleagues for growth and development!