Greek Tourism Revenue Drops In Jan-Oct Period

Greece’s tourism revenue dropped four percent during the January-October 2012 period, according to data released recently by the Bank of Greece.

Tourism receipts amounted to some 9.8 billion euros during the first 10 months of the year compared with 10.18 billion euros in 2011.

Overall, for the first 10 months of the year, international arrivals declined by 5.5 percent to 14.8 million compared to 15.6 million arrivals during the same period in 2011.

The average trip expenditure in Greece per international visitor increased by 1.6 percent to 660.7 million euros compared to 650.1 million euros in 2011.

The data also showed that in the January-October 2012 period, arrivals from the UK to Greece increased by 10.7 percent to 1.88 million and tourism revenue increased by 20.9 percent to 1.41 billion euros.

On the other hand, arrivals from Germany to Greece dropped by 17.7 percent to 1.8 million and tourism revenue increased by 14.6 percent to 1.54 billion euros.

Early bookings to Greece for the 2013 season from the UK and Germany are up some 20 percent, the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE), Andreas Andreadis, recently said. According to SETE’s president, it is very possible for arrivals to surpass 17 million next season.

In regards to the Russian market that is continuously opening to Greece, the Bank of Greece’s data showed that arrivals from Russia increased by 20.6 percent to 865,200. Tourism revenue from Russia to Greece increased by 32.9 percent to 970.3 million euros.

According to predictions, arrivals of Russian tourists to Greece are expected to exceed one million in 2012.