Greece can break tourism record this year

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Greece will probably break records in terms of travel and tourism revenue generation this summer, Alpha Bank, second largest financial company in Greece said. In its weekly economic developments report, Alpha Bank highlighted that Greece’s tourism revenue this year is expected to reach 20 billion euros, significantly exceeding the amount generated by tourism in 2019 (18.2 billion euros).

Greece is a prominent tourism destination for the United Kingdom and United States travellers. The country is home to a wide array of interesting places to visit that have always formed the prime attractions of the tourism here. Greece allures millions of tourists for its architectural brilliance of Santorini , the spectacular beaches of Mykonos, archaeological sites of Athens and the breathtaking gorges of Crete. This peninsular country has got many enticing sightseeing destinations for the tourists to engage.

Alpha Bank also said that 2022 will probably emerge, according to the data available so far, as a new record year for Greek tourism. According to Alpha Bank, pent-up demand for travel due to the two-year Covid-19 pandemic and large household savings, accumulated during the period of restrictive measures, have increased spending per trip, which is is expected to lead to:

Greece’s GDP to continue its strong rise in the second and third quarters of the year and approach levels significantly higher than the average of the European Union (EU-27)

a boost to state coffers, this way allowing the government to offer additional support measures for households and businesses against rising prices due to the energy crisis.

Alpha Bank also added that another positive aspect is Greece’s exit from the enhanced surveillance regime on August 20. “This allows for the government to exercise its fiscal policy with more flexibility within the framework of the rules applicable at EU-27 level,” the bank said in its report.

Authorities in Greece have announced that they expect to welcome almost one million tourists to the country’s airports in the first week of August alone.

Some 8 million travellers from abroad visited Greece in the first half of 2022 with travel receipts amounting to 5.1 billion euros. Compared to the January-June 2019 period, this year’s tourism figures were down 15 percent and 5.3 percent respectively. Meanwhile, the average expenditure per trip increased by 12.6 percent compared to the January-July 2019 period.

In addition, passenger traffic to Greece accelerated in July with international arrivals at Greek airports up by around 200 percent during the first seven months of the year, compared to the same period in 2021.

Alpha Bank also said that travel receipts during the first half of 2022 boosted state revenue, which amounted to 41.8 billion euros compared to 35.3 billion euros in the same period of 2021, registering an increase of 18.5 percent. The increase of revenues from VAT is also considered significant as it amounted to 8.4 billion euros compared to 6.7 billion euros in the first half of 2021.

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