ATHENS – There’s just no stopping Germans in wanting to come to Greece for vacations even during the waning COVID-19 pandemic, with holiday packages increasing in 2022 by 22 percent over the record year 2019.

Greece is on a path to bust the record year, propelled by a surge in American tourists, including from the Diaspora, but particularly the valued German market of high spenders.

The German Travel Association (DRV) revealed the demand as Greece is also urging German pensioners facing huge energy bills in the winter to spend the season in Greece, along with other Northern Europeans.

DRV also carried out a survey which revealed that summer holiday demand was high for Mediterranean destinations in autumn, SchengenVisaInfo.com reported, led by Turkey and followed by Turkey as German favorites.

Germany is home to 2.74 million people of Turkish heritage, providing Turkey a natural advantage in those wanting to visit from that country although German has been traditionally keen for them too.

Holiday package deals in Turkey increased by 33 percent, by 22 per cent in Greece, and by eight percent in Egypt for the Germans, many of whom especially like Greece’s biggest island of Crete.

The survey findings also reveal that German travelers spent more on their holidays this year compared to 2019 with spending per person per night up 15 percent, the site said.