Greece’s popularity with foreign visitors is especially keen among Europeans who rank it fourth on their preference list but continuing hordes from around the world have elevated the country to first in their spending increase.

Some 75 percent of Europeans planning to travel this summer and beyond have Greece on their list of places to visit, up 6 percent from a record-breaking 2023, according to the European Travel Commission’s ETC latest survey.

Travel spending increased by 25 percent in Greece and Spain, 20 percent in Italy and 16 percent in France, although so many people are traveling this year that there’s a backlash growing against overtourism, led by Spain and Greece.

Vacationers are picking countries known for beaches, making Greece a favorite as luxury resorts have largely taken over public beaches and many of the best spots, and private businesses are occupying more of them.

The European visitors are led by the Spanish, Italians and British looking for elsewhere to go although Spain and Italy are among the top spots too – for foreigners, although there is domestic tourism too.

But what comes first in people’s minds in picking where to go isn’t culture or beaches or sun – but whether a country is safe, followed by weather, opportunities and how welcoming people are, which could prove a problem, with overtourism resistance growing.

Another problem for Greece is that the country is increasingly being perceived as too hot, with another summer of blistering weather and lingering heat waves which has raised fears in future years that people will pick cooler climes.

Another factor is that many tourists are elderly, pensioners with time on their hands and money enough but when it gets too hot they either won’t go places or if they are already there, don’t venture out much of the time, limiting their spending.