Newsletters
A wave of American visitors is discovering the appeal of Greece's idyllic islands, long popular with European holidaymakers, as celebrities such as Madonna, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber showcase the destination to their followers.
Madonna celebrated her 68th birthday on Corfu, sharing a whirl of parties and boat trips against the backdrop of the island's landscape with her 20 million Instagram followers, earning her rapturous thanks from Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
While Madonna partied in Corfu, singer Bieber took his family to the Peloponnese. Perry and her partner, Canada's former prime minister Justin Trudeau, sampled the delights of Mykonos.
All of them chronicled their holidays on social media, giving the Greek tourism industry a massive hit of free advertising.
"Celebrities are voting for the Greek summer!" public broadcaster ERT said on Friday, devoting a report to these stars from across the Atlantic.
The newspaper To Vima hailed this "new wave" which "helps raise the country's international profile." It cited British singer and actress Rita Ora, who shared her holidays with "her millions of followers" on social media.
Paris Tsartas, professor of tourism development at Harokopio University in Athens, said the deluge of celebrity endorsements gave Greece a powerful boost as a summer destination, particularly with the lucrative American market.
After a decade of financial woes following the debt crisis of 2009, and the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, Greece has pumped money into the sector, which accounts for nearly 30% of GDP, according to the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE).
Around 1.55 million Americans visited Greece in 2025. They represent the third-largest source of tourism income, behind Germans and Britons, according to SETE, with an average spend per tourist of €1,120 ($1,300).
To answer growing demand, the main U.S. airlines have significantly stepped up services, with American Airlines increasing its total available seat capacity by 30% compared with summer 2025.
And this year Greece has had its highest-ever number of direct flights, with 103 connections a week between Athens and the United States.
Some of the new enthusiasm is driven by the phenomenon of "set-jetting"—people traveling to a destination after seeing it in a movie or TV series (a term describing travel inspired by on-screen locations).
In a study for online travel giant Expedia, 13% of American travelers said they had booked a trip after seeing a destination on screen.
Greece is well acquainted with the trend, after the hit musical "Mamma Mia", filmed on the island of Skopelos, triggered a jump in American visitors.
Professor Tsartas predicted "The Odyssey" would have a similar impact.
Key parts of Nolan's film, recounting the travails of Damon's Odysseus as he seeks to return home from the Trojan War to his wife Penelope, played by Anne Hathaway, were shot in the Peloponnese region of Greece.
According to EasyJet Holidays, cited by the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, bookings to Greece increased by 18% in the weeks following the film's international release in mid-July.
And there is more small-screen exposure for Greece's charms to come: Netflix has chosen the country for the sixth season of the hit series "Emily in Paris."
Lead actress Lily Collins and the rest of the production team were spotted this spring in Mykonos, Paros and Santorini.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
