Greece’s International Tourist Arrivals by Air Increase in Jan-Nov

Photo source: AIA

International tourist arrivals to Greece by air continued to show an upward trend during the first 11 months of the year, InSETE’s latest report revealed on Monday.

According to the data, international arrivals to Greece by air grew during the January-November period by 5.7 percent compared to the same period in 2014, exceeding 15 million (nearly 820,000 additional arrivals). The increase is due almost entirely to the rise of arrivals at Athens International Airport (AIA). Last month, AIA recorded a double-digit increase in arrivals — 11.3 percent — compared to November 2014 and in the first 11 months of the year saw a 23.6 percent rise in arrivals.

During the January-November 2015 period, arrivals to Greece by road amounted to some 11.4 million and presented an increase of 16.3 percent, which shows 1.1 million additional arrivals to the country compared to the previous year. In November alone, arrivals by road were up by 28.9 percent. The main point of entry which accounted for 46.3 percent of traffic by road to Greece this year, compared to 2014, was the Evzoni border station (FYROM).

Domestic air travel in November was up by 21.7 percent, reaching 500,000 passengers. During the first 11 months of the year, passenger traffic on domestic flights showed a 24.4 percent increase, reaching 6.4 million arrivals (1.2 million additional arrivals).

In regards to tourism revenue, according to the October Border Survey of the Bank of Greece, travel receipts fell by 4.1 percent year-on-year and presented a 4.1 percent rise during the first ten months of the year.

InSETE’s report also showed that domestic ferry travel on routes covering the Northern Aegean and Dodecanese islands showed an increase in passenger traffic during the first 10 months of the year — 26.8 percent and 20.7 percent respectively. However, InSETE clarified that the increases are not due to tourism but to the movement of refugees and migrants from the Greek islands.

According to InSETE, all figures have been affected by the downhill spiral of the Russian travel market.

InSETE (SETE Intelligence) is the research department of the Greek Tourism Confederation.