Crete is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Greece. Fifteen percent of all arrivals in Greece come through the city of Heraklion (port and airport), while charter flights to Iraklion were last year 20% of the total of charter flights in Greece. In sum more than two million tourists visited Crete last year. This increase in tourism is reflected on the number of hotel beds, which increased in Crete by 53% from 1986 to 1991 while in the rest of Greece the increase was 25%.Today the tourism infrastructure in Crete caters to all tastes. There is accommodation of every possible category, from large luxury hotels with all the facilities (swimming pools, sports and recreation facilities etc.), to smaller family owned apartments, to camping facilities. Visitors can arrive at the island through two international airports in Heraklion and Hania, or by boat to the ports of Heraklion, Hania, Rethimno and Agios Nikolaos.

Crete’s principal cities are:

• Heraklion (Iraklion or Candia) (137,711 inhabitants)
• Chania (Hani ) (53,373 inhabitants)
• Rethymno (31,687 inhabitants)
• Ierapetra (23,707 inhabitants)
• Agios Nikolaos (19,462 inhabitants)
• Sitia (14,338 inhabitants)