Greece Tourism Resilient: Arrivals Stronger Than Ever

Constitution square (Syntagma), Athens.

Greece may be in the midst of economic and political turmoil, but tourism is still going strong, according to the latest figures released by the Bank of Greece, which reveal a 20.8 percent rise to 7.56 million in the number of incoming tourists to the country in the first six months of the year.

Demonstrating the positive trend, travel receipts grew by 8.2 percent to 4.1 billion euros, with industry experts attributing the good results to competitive prices and the friendlier exchange rate.

Travelers from the US, Germany, the UK and France are giving Greece their seal of approval with the number of visitors in the same period increasing by 41.6 percent, 23.5 percent, 18 percent and from 12.5 percent, respectively. The same markets boosted revenue with American tourists contributing 305.9 million euros, up by 32.9 percent, the British 626.7 million euros, up by 30.3 percent, the French 318.7 million euros, up by 21.2 percent, and the Germans 652.7 million euros, up by 18.1 percent.

On the downside, arrivals from Russia plunged by 60.6 percent with revenue dropping by 63.2 percent, down by 129.3 million euros.

The Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) estimates that arrivals for 2015 will remain strong to the end of the year, reaching 25 million and accounting for some 14 billion euros in travel receipts.