Tourist arrivals at airports throughout Greece rose by 9.52 percent in the first half of the year, according to provisional figures released on Thursday by the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises (SETE).

Visitors arrivals at Greek airports rose by 9.52 percent, totalling 4,214,220 arrivals in the period January-June 2011.

Foreign tourist arrivals at Greek airports in the month of June alone reached 1,782,673 marking a 15.8 percent rise against the same month last year.

The destinations posting the largest increases in the first half of the year were the islands of Rhodes and Kos, with 33.25 percent and 31.07 percent respectively.

Substantial increases were also posted in Thessaloniki (11.57 percent), Heraklion, Crete (15.06 percent) and Hania, Crete (7.82 percent).

Conversely, Athens' Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport (AIA) posted a 3.02 percent decline in arrivals.