Greece Sees Double-Digit Revenue Decline

Tourism revenue dropped 14.7 percent in the January-June period against the same period in 2008 as foreign visitors spent some 3.1 billion euros, the Bank of Greece recently announced. In June receipts were down 10.4 percent to 1.39 billion euros.

According to press reports, President of the Hellenic Hotel Federation Andreas Andreadis that the June figures were in line with expectations. He added that he expects Greek tourism to post a 15 percent revenue decline for the full year.

An economist at Alpha Bank, Dimitris Maroulis, told the press that despite the downturn, the 10.4 percent drop in June could be a sign that tourism may not suffer as initially feared.

Tourism revenue had dropped 17.9 percent in the January to May period against the same period in 2008, while May’s revenue recorded a fall of 24.2 percent, according to a report from the Research Institute for Tourism and Forecasts (ITEP) and the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels.

According to the report, the main reasons for this decline were discounts and the reduction of accommodation prices, the shorter overnight stays of foreign tourists in Greece and the lower daily spending.

The report also noted that Greek tourism revenue for that period was the worst among competing countries. Greece is followed by Portugal (-12.4 percent), Spain (-11.7 percent) and Cyprus (-11.7 percent).