Tourism around the Mediterranean has been booming. Helped by a strong US dollar and Europeans’ pent-up demand to find a beach after years of COVID-19 travel restrictions, it’s been a stronger comeback from the pandemic slump than many expected, which led to long lines, cancelled flights and lost luggage this summer at many European airports – though not in Greece.

Greece is on course to beat its annual record revenue haul from tourism. Portugal also is eyeing a full recovery, while late-summer data suggested Spain, Italy and Cyprus will end the year just shy of pre-pandemic visitor levels.

A blessing for Europe’s southern economies, the rebound is also easing the continent’s tilt toward recession brought on by rocketing energy prices, the war in Ukraine and enduring disruptions caused by the pandemic.

In Athens’ historic Plaka district, tourists were still packing the narrow streets during a mild late October, crowding around ice cream sellers and stopping to browse at stores selling leather bags, jewelry, hats and souvenirs.

At Loom Carpets, co-owner Vahan Apikian, folded and stacked carpets and laid out shoulder bags for customers, happy that demand has remained high well into the autumn.

“Business has gone very well: We had many more visitors than in 2019, which was a record year. This year was even better,” he said.

Stelios Zompanakis, who offers weeklong holiday trips on his yacht around some of the lesser-known Greek islands – Milos, Sifnos, Serifos, Kythnos and many others – says he was booked up through October.

“The demand is insane,” he said, adding, “People after COVID, after two years of frustration, probably put some money aside and decided they needed a vacation. And I think the income from their budgets that they are willing to spend rose so that also brought more quality… and this helped Greece a lot.”