Greece’s Travel Balance Records Surplus In January-June 2013

Greece’s travel balance of payments recorded a surplus of 2,607 million euros during the first six months of the year, 27.7 percent more compared with the same period in 2012, the Bank of Greece said in a report on 21 October.

According to the data, this reflects an 18.1 percent rise (535 million euros) in tourism revenue. Travel proceeds from EU-27 countries were 7.7 percent up on 2012 (1,960 million euros) and revenue from other countries increased 37.7 percent on last year to 1,377 million euros.

In the same report, the central bank said average spending per travel increased by 5.4 percent (settling at 616 euros) while tourist arrivals grew by 12.3 percent (5,421 million visitors) compared to the same period last year.