TL;DR
- Advantage data has Greece as the number-one booking destination since the start of May, around 22% of all bookings.
- Agents are linking the surge to Greece’s current approach to EES biometric checks for UK travellers.
- Turkey is seeing an uplift too, for similar reasons.
- Portugal and Italy have said they will not follow the same path, which gives you a destination picture to talk through.
- The situation is fluid, so the FCDO entry-requirements page is the one source clients should be checking.
What’s Happening at the Top of the Charts
Here is a useful one for client conversations this week. Advantage Travel Partnership data shows Greece has climbed to the top of the booking charts since the start of May, accounting for roughly 22% of all bookings. That is a notable jump, and agents are pointing to one main reason behind it… the current entry-check situation.
Greece has taken a different approach to the EU’s Entry/Exit System biometric checks for UK passport holders compared with some of its neighbours. Agents report that clients are gravitating toward destinations where the entry process feels simpler, and right now Greece is reading as one of those.
A Closer Look
It is worth being precise here, because the picture is moving. The reporting from Travel Weekly and Advantage describes a booking uplift that agents are attributing to Greece’s handling of the checks, with Turkey benefiting from a similar effect. That is the trade observation. What it is not is a guarantee about exactly what any individual traveller will experience at the border on a given day.
There has been some mixed official messaging through May, so the honest position to take with clients is that the rules are still settling. A few Greek ports may still apply checks, and the safest thing you can do is point clients to the FCDO Greece travel advice page for the current entry requirements before they book and again before they fly.
For Client Chats
This is where you earn your keep. A client reading scattered headlines about biometric checks is confused and a little nervous. You are the person who can calmly lay out the picture… Greece and Turkey are reading well on entry simplicity right now, Portugal and Italy have confirmed they are not offering the same exemptions, and the official advice is the page to watch.
That destination hierarchy is genuinely handy. If a client is torn between a Greek island and the Algarve this summer, the entry-process angle is one more real-world factor you can put on the table, alongside everything you would normally weigh up.
Where This Shows Up in Real Life
The bigger point is the one to hold onto. When the rules around travel feel uncertain, people lean harder on someone who can make sense of it for them. This is exactly the kind of moment where a good agent looks like gold… not because you can promise what the border will do, but because you can cut through the noise, point to the right source, and help a client book with confidence. Greece topping the charts is the headline. Being the calm voice in a confusing week is the real opportunity.
