Catering turnover in Greece decreased in the first quarter of 2026. The main reason is the high cost: consumers go to cafes and restaurants less often and spend less.
According to Ελληνική Στατιστική Αρχή (ΕΛΣΤΑΤ, Greek Statistical Service), the sector’s revenue amounted to €2.141 billionwhat’s on 1.9% less than for the same period in 2025.
In the first quarter of 2025, the turnover of public catering establishments was €2.184 billion. Formally, the decline looks moderate, but in real terms the picture is more severe: if we take into account inflation, purchasing activity in the sector actually declined more. In other words, people not only began to spend a little less – they began to be more careful about the very fact of going out to a cafe or restaurant.
The main reason is the reduction in household disposable income due to high costs. Rising prices for food, energy, rent and basic services have squeezed family budgets, and spending on coffee, eating out and evening outs is increasingly moving from habit to luxury. This is how the market finds out that the consumer is not rubber, although for many years he pretended that this was just a temporary technical detail.
Consumers are changing habits
Chapter METRO and former chairman of the supermarket union Aristotelis Panteliadis noted that the Greek consumer has changed behavior: people no longer go out as often during the week, which puts pressure on the entire catering market.
This applies not only to Greeks, but also to some foreign visitors. Tourists have also become more attentive to expenses: they often choose cheaper options, for example street foodor eat in rented accommodation instead of restaurants. For a country where tourism and food have long gone together, this is an unpleasant signal: the tourist has arrived, but the receipt does not necessarily please the tavern owner.
According to ΕΛΣΤΑΤthe decline affected both tourist and non-tourist destinations, although the picture varies markedly by region. The strongest decline in catering was recorded in Messinia — 14.8%. IN Attica the decline turned out to be almost symbolic – 0.1%. At the same time Santorini showed an increase in turnover in public catering by 24.2%.
Tourist destinations take different paths
Turnover of public catering enterprises by region
| Region | Regional unit | Change, Q1 2025/2024 | Change, 1st quarter 2026/2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Macedonia and Thrace | Rhodope | -1.0% | -5.9% |
| Eastern Macedonia and Thrace | Drama | -3.4% | -2.7% |
| Eastern Macedonia and Thrace | Evros | 4.3% | 5.6% |
| Eastern Macedonia and Thrace | Thassos | -4.2% | -25.8% |
| Eastern Macedonia and Thrace | Kavala | -8.8% | -4.5% |
| Eastern Macedonia and Thrace | Xanthi | 0.2% | 1.8% |
| Central Macedonia | Thessaloniki | -2.3% | -5.9% |
| Central Macedonia | Imathia | -1.3% | -0.5% |
| Central Macedonia | Kilkis | -0.3% | -2.4% |
| Central Macedonia | Pella | -3.4% | -3.9% |
| Central Macedonia | Pieria | -4.9% | -3.2% |
| Central Macedonia | Serres | -5.8% | -9.0% |
| Central Macedonia | Halkidiki | 6.1% | 4.6% |
| Western Macedonia | Kozani | -6.1% | -3.0% |
| Western Macedonia | Grevena | -12.9% | 0.9% |
| Western Macedonia | Kastoria | -13.1% | -12.0% |
| Western Macedonia | Florina | -11.3% | -7.5% |
| Epirus | Ioannina | -8.2% | -5.4% |
| Epirus | Arta | -12.0% | -10.8% |
| Epirus | Thesprotia | 2.1% | -0.9% |
| Epirus | Preveza | -8.8% | -11.6% |
| Thessaly | Larisa | -0.3% | -1.5% |
| Thessaly | Karditsa | -1.4% | -8.2% |
| Thessaly | Magnisia | -2.6% | -1.3% |
| Thessaly | Sporades | 10.4% | 1.1% |
| Thessaly | Trikala | -1.5% | 2.0% |
| Central Greece | Phthiotide | -1.6% | -5.6% |
| Central Greece | Boeotia | -2.4% | 0.8% |
| Central Greece | Euboea | 0.9% | -4.5% |
| Central Greece | Eurytania | 3.1% | 2.3% |
| Central Greece | Phocis | 1.7% | -1.2% |
| Ionian Islands | Kerkyra | 0.9% | -1.6% |
| Ionian Islands | Zakynthos | 2.8% | -5.2% |
| Ionian Islands | Ithaca | -12.7% | -7.7% |
| Ionian Islands | Kefalonia | -5.7% | -5.8% |
| Ionian Islands | Lefkada | 7.5% | -0.3% |
| Western Greece | Achaia | -0.4% | -8.0% |
| Western Greece | Aetolia-Acarnania | -2.2% | -1.1% |
| Western Greece | Elijah | 1.9% | -8.2% |
| Peloponnese | Arcadia | 0.4% | -3.3% |
| Peloponnese | Argolis | -5.3% | -12.3% |
| Peloponnese | Corinthia | 7.7% | 6.2% |
| Peloponnese | Laconia | -5.0% | -2.1% |
| Peloponnese | Messinia | -12.1% | -14.8% |
| Attica | Attica* | 4.1% | -0.1% |
| North Aegean Sea | Lesbos | -7.1% | -17.0% |
| North Aegean Sea | Ikaria | -2.0% | 4.9% |
| North Aegean Sea | Lemnos | 6.6% | 5.8% |
| North Aegean Sea | Samos | -1.2% | -3.5% |
| North Aegean Sea | Chios | 1.5% | -5.0% |
| South Aegean Sea | Syros | -3.0% | -2.9% |
| South Aegean Sea | Andros | 1.8% | -6.3% |
| South Aegean Sea | Thira | -4.5% | 24.2% |
| South Aegean Sea | Kalymnos | 5.0% | -5.9% |
| South Aegean Sea | Karpathos | 12.9% | 13.9% |
| South Aegean Sea | Kea-Kitnos | 8.8% | -20.9% |
| South Aegean Sea | Kos | 1.6% | -8.5% |
| South Aegean Sea | Milos | -5.9% | 5.8% |
| South Aegean Sea | Mykonos | 1.1% | 23.9% |
| South Aegean Sea | Naxos | 4.8% | -6.1% |
| South Aegean Sea | Paros | 4.7% | 2.9% |
| South Aegean Sea | Rhodes | 4.6% | 2.5% |
| South Aegean Sea | Tinos | 0.5% | 2.4% |
| Crete | Heraklion | 1.7% | -0.4% |
| Crete | Lasithi | -2.4% | -5.3% |
| Crete | Rethymnon | 0.1% | -3.8% |
| Crete | Chania | 3.5% | -3.2% |
| Grand total | All regions | 1.3% | -1.9% |
* Attica corresponds to a region and includes all regional units that comprise it.
In some popular directions, the statistics look heterogeneous. On Mykonos accommodation turnover decreased, but in catering increased by more than 20%. On Santorini growth was recorded in both accommodation and catering. This shows that high prices do not hit everyone equally: premium destinations can hold on to demand, while more mass markets feel the pressure more quickly.
At the same time, the data ΕΛΣΤΑΤ based on periodic declarations FΠΑ (VAT) enterprises, and not through a sample survey. This makes the statistics more reliable, but not ideal: the declared turnover does not always coincide with the real one, since cash payments and cases of incomplete check issuance still exist in the sector. Oddly enough, in Greece the cash register sometimes remains a device of philosophical choice.
Accommodation is growing, but almost at the level of inflation
In the accommodation sector the picture is formally better. The turnover of accommodation enterprises in the first quarter of 2026 amounted to €528.4 million against €512.3 million a year earlier. The growth amounted to 3.1%that is, it was approximately moving at the inflation line.
The strongest growth in the accommodation sector was recorded in Rhodes — 29.8%. IN Attica the increase was much more modest – 1.8%. The most noticeable drop showed Kefaloniawhere the placement turnover decreased by 32.1%.
This means that the growth of tourism in itself no longer guarantees an automatic increase in income for all market participants. Some areas benefit due to the brand, price segment or demand structure. Others are faced with the fact that there is a flow of tourism, but guests are becoming more cautious in their spending.
Editorial comment
The decline in turnover in public catering is not just a problem for restaurants and cafes. This is an indicator that households have less and less free money after mandatory expenses. When people start saving on coffee, a tavern and an evening out, it means that inflation has long gone beyond the statistical tables and entered into everyday behavior.
For the catering business, the situation is especially unpleasant: costs are rising, raw materials are becoming more expensive, wages and rent are pressing, and at the same time the consumer is reducing the frequency of visits and the average bill. In this design, the entrepreneur finds himself between an expensive supplier and a tired client. Beautiful market harmony, if you look at it from afar and preferably not from the cash register of a restaurant.
If the trend continues, the sector will have to adapt: offer more affordable formats, work with smaller margins, change the menu and compete harder for local customers. Because the tourist season can smooth out the numbers, but does not cancel the main thing: the Greek consumer increasingly considers not only money, but also the very reason to leave the house.
More Stories
Greeks refuse beef and olive oil: how high prices change nutrition
Inflation in Greece soars to 5.1%: energy crisis is just beginning
Only +4 children in six months: Greece’s demographic problem has not disappeared anywhere