Minister Says Greek Tourism First to Feel the Impact of Brexit

Brexit’s toll on Greece is expected to reach up to 1.6 billion euros or 0.8 percent of GDP after 2019, said Alternate Foreign Minister George Katrougalos, citing data released by the Bank of Greece.

Speaking in parliament on Monday, Katrougalos said that the UK’s departure from the EU will inevitably have consequences on the Greek economy, which could range from 0.4 percent to 0.8 percent of Greek GDP (800 million euros to 1.6 billion euros) with the most significant losses expected in tourism.

Citing central bank figures, Katrougalos said that revenue from foreign exchange is estimated at dropping between 2.29 percent and 6.3 percent of the total earnings from British tourists. In 2015, some 2.4 million British tourists visited Greece, spending approximately 2 billion euros on their holiday.

Other areas to be impacted include Greek shipping and tuition fees for the 12,000 Greek students studying in the UK. The objective, among others, is to prevent a negative impact on the budget and keep tuition costs at existing levels, he said. The minister underlined that the final estimates as to the economic repercussions of Brexit on Greece will only be possible once mechanisms are in place and the procedure is completed in March 2019.

“We are currently moving into uncharted waters, as not all mechanisms have been activated in order to have a clear picture of the impact,” Katrougalos said.