Most popular Greek islands are witnessing a sharp decline in restaurant and taverna visits this summer, with some areas reporting a massive drop in dining revenue compared to last year.  Both Greek and foreign tourists are increasingly opting for supermarket food purchases to cook and prepare at their accommodations, or choosing takeout or street food to curb vacation costs.  This trend, already evident last summer, has intensified in 2025.  Visitor numbers rose after 15th July, across all islands and mainland, but tourists are staying for shorter periods and spending less on dining out, boosting supermarket sales, takeaway meals and home deliveries.  This shift has spurred the opening of new street food and quick-snack outlets, with some businesses transitioning to self-service models to meet demand.

Restaurant and taverna sectors saw a 6% price increase in July 2025 alone, despite higher food prices, particularly certain meats, and rising operational costs (up over 40% in recent years) prompting restaurant and taverna price hikes of up to 20% this summer. 

Supermarket sales in island regions reflect this changing shift.  Even in the first half of 2025, data showed the Aegean islands and Crete leading with up to 9.5% growth, outpacing the Peloponnese with 6.8%.  As tourists, visitors and local residents prioritise cost-saving, the trend towards home cooking and cheaper street food is reshaping the hospitality landscape on most Greek islands.  Food businesses on Santorini recorded losses of over 20% in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year.

Foreign arrivals to Greece this year are expected to be up to four times the country's population of 10.4 million.  However, for Athenian residents, a six-day island trip for a family of four costs approximately 3,500 euros, in a country where the average monthly income barely tops 1,000 euros.  According to EU data, almost half of Greeks were unable to afford even a one-week holiday break in 2024.  This year, many Greeks are doing one-day 'beach-on-a-budget' getaway breaks by packing their own umbrellas and beach mats, carrying plastic cooler-containers of homemade food and relying on buses instead of ferries or flights.