Greece: Tourist Arrivals Up by 22% in Jan-Sep 2014

International arrivals to Greece increased by 22.2 percent during the first nine months of 2014 compared to the previous year, according to a border survey carried out by the Bank of Greece and released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) on Friday.

According to the data, the total arrivals of non-residents from abroad during the January-September period reached some 19 million.

In absolute values, a significant increase in arrivals was recorded from Bulgaria (99 percent), France (26.9 percent), the United Kingdom (14.5 percent), Romania (95.6 percent), Serbia (28.2 percent), Poland (51.4 percent) and Germany (7.1 percent).

Arrivals from Russia dropped by four percent and from Sweden by 7.4 percent.

The Bank of Greece’s data also showed that the country saw an increase of arrivals from Asia, Turkey and the United States.

The latest forecast by the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) of total visitor arrivals in 2014 – by all means of transport (including cruise arrivals) – refers to a record number of some 24 million.