Foreign Tourist Arrivals To Greece Expected To Surge This Fall

More foreign tourists are said to visit Greece this fall and the country is expected to “collect” three times the amount of tourism revenue it gained during the April-May period, the Greek press said Tuesday, 27 August.

According to the Greek press, the next two months – September and October – are expected to bring in tourist receipts of over 1.6 billion euros. In April and May revenue reached 570 million euros, according to data from the Bank of Greece.

Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported that international arrivals during the September-October 2013 period are expected to hit three million. In April and May, Greece welcomed some 2.2 million international arrivals, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.

Based on the above data, it is obvious that incoming tourism will be very active during the fall, so a positive climate for Greece must continue in order to maintain the flowing of tourism revenue into state coffers.

Officials in Greece have predicted a record-breaking 17 million tourists, spending some 11.1 billion euros this year, up from last year’s 15.5 million tourists and 10 billion euros in revenue.

The Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises was reported to have revised its initial forecast of tourism figures for 2013 and recently referred to a potential 17.5 million tourists and revenue of around 11.5 billion euros.

Tourism revenue in Greece increased by 17.8 percent in the first half of the year compared with the same period last year, recent data from the Bank of Greece showed. In addition, international arrivals increased by 12.3 percent.