ATHENS – While expecting a big return of tourists this year, Greece has fallen behind Germany into fifth place as the most popular spot in Europe for vacationing and Croatia at sixth is closing the gap fast.

Despite newly aggressive campaigns aimed at luring foreign travelers year -round and to rebound from the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, Greece is finding itself with tough competition.

A survey by the group Mindhaus – whose director  Theofilos Kyratsoulis said Greece can’t be complacent and just expect people to come – found the country behind Italy, Spain and France as well as Germany.

The poll was taken for the European Travel Commission, the association of European tourism organizations and showed while Greece ranks fourth in the key markets of the United Kingdom and France, it has dropped out of the top five spots for Germans, Italians, Belgians, Poles and Austrians.

Greece ranks fourth in specific markets such as the United Kingdom and France, but has dropped out of the top five for the Germans, Italians, Belgians, Polish and Austrians.

Tourism is Greece’s biggest revenue engine and brings in as much as 18-20 percent of the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 176.48 million euros ($200.3 million) and employed almost a million people at its peak.