Athens has been named one of the world’s top destinations for conference tourism, ranking 10th worldwide and 7th in Europe for 2024, according to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).
The announcement was made during the IMEX 2025 in Frankfurt, highlighting the Greek capital’s growing appeal in the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) sector, which moved up five spots globally, hosting 111 international conferences last year. Compared to 2023, it hosted 88 and ranked 15th in the world.
According to ICCA data, Athens attracted over 40,300 visitors and generated an estimated 94 million euros ($106 million) in revenue.
“Athens’ rise to 10th place worldwide and 7th in Europe reflects our strategic choice to invest in sustainable tourism and in the upgrade of the city’s infrastructure,” Athens Mayor Haris Doukas said.
“Conference tourism strengthens the local economy, extends the tourist season, and promotes Athens as a hub of innovation and international dialogue. This distinction is a vote of confidence in the hospitality of the Greek capital and a strong incentive to continue our efforts to strengthen MICE tourism.”
Vienna, Austria holds the top spot globally with 154 conferences organized in 2024, followed closely by Lisbon, Portugal with 153. Singapore was in third place with 144, followed by Barcelona, Spain, Prague, Czech Republic and Paris, France.
The majority of international conferences are held in the areas of medicine, technology, science, education and industry.
The number of tourists that visited Greece in 2024 reached new heights, according to data released by the Bank of Greece this month, with the Mediterranean country having welcomed 40.7 million foreign visitors, marking a 12.8 percent increase compared to 2023, when 33 million visited Greece.
Attica, the region where Athens is located, hosted the largest number of visitors while the southern Aegean recorded the highest share of total tourism receipts and overnight stays. Personal travel remained the primary reason for the visits, accounting for 93.5 percent of total travel spending in 2024.
The figures also mark an increase in revenues, with Greece collecting 21.7 billion euros ($22.6 billion), up from 20.6 billion euros ($21.5 billion) in 2023.
Tourists from the European Union contributed the most to the rise in revenues in 2024. Receipts from EU visitors totaled 11.9 billion euros ($13.3 billion), representing over half of the year’s tourism revenues. Tourists from Eurozone countries contributed 9.5 billion euros ($10.6 billion) while those from third countries contributed 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion). Revenues from visitors from all parts of the world saw an increase between 4.5 to 18 percent.
After a two-year pause during the pandemic when international travel was affected and tourism came to a standstill, Greece has been seeing a steady increase both in the number of tourist arrivals and tourism revenues.
