Greece Welcomed Over 1 Million Tourists In First Quarter

International arrivals to Greece increased by 4.6 percent during the first quarter of 2013 compared to last year, the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) said on 23 July.

According to a border statistical survey carried out by the Bank of Greece, the total arrivals of non-residents from abroad during the January-March period reached 1,023,354.

Arrivals from Europe that account for the largest share of arrivals (78.9 percent) recorded a drop of 2.6 percent, while those from European Union member states fell by 3.3 percent.

ELSTAT data showed that arrivals from Bulgaria, Spain, Russia and Germany showed a significant increase in absolute values, while a significant decrease of arrivals, in absolute values, was from the UK, Cyprus, the Netherlands and Belgium.

The largest number of arrivals of non-residents by country of origin were from Bulgaria (14.6 percent), followed by Albania (12.5 percent), Germany (8.1 percent), Cyprus (5.9 percent), the UK (4.5 percent) and Italy (4.2 percent).

From other continents, there was an increase in arrivals from Asia by 10.2 percent (with a large contribution from Turkey, up by 81.9 percent).

In regards to arrivals by air, Athens International Airport welcomed the most tourists during the first quarter (33.1 percent).

Tourism revenue up in May

The Bank of Greece also released data recently that showed that tourism revenue in May posted a 38.5 percent increase year-on-year to 1.054 billion euros (760 million euros in 2012).

According to the Bank of Greece, during the January-May period, Greece saw a 15.5 percent increase in tourism receipts to 1.733 billion euros compared to last year.