Greece Travel Receipts Up by 12.6% in February

Athens. Photo Source: Wanderlust Greece

Greek travel receipts rose in February by 12.6 percent year-on-year to 152 million euros against 135 million euros in the same month last year, driven mainly by non-EU source markets, the Bank of Greece said on Monday.

According to central bank data, spending by EU travelers outside the Union grew by 23.7 percent to 31 million euros in February, against 25 million euros in the same month last year, while receipts from euro area residents fell by 8.3 percent to 49 million euros in the same month.

More specifically, German travelers spent less in February, down by 7.7 percent to 15 million euros, so did the French, weaker by 22.2 percent to 5 million euros, and UK travelers down by 2.2 percent to 10 million euros.

At the same time, receipts by visitors from non-EU countries rose with Russia leading the way up by 116.7 percent to 7 million euros. Spending by US tourists dropped by 61.9 percent to 5 million in February.

Overall, travel receipts grew by 4.2 percent year-on-year to 305 million euros in the January-February 2018 period, attributed primarily to increases in receipts from within the EU up by 1.1 percent to 166 million euros, while non-EU traveler spending was up by 8.3 percent to 138 million euros.

Odeon of Herodes Atticus Theater, Athens © GTP

Meanwhile, February also saw stronger inbound traveler flows up by 8.9 percent year-on-year to 484,000 with traffic at airports up by 8.9 percent and through road border-crossing points up by 10.9 percent.

For the January-February period, the number of inbound visitors rose by 12.7 percent year-on-year to 1,088,000 compared to 965,000 in the first two months of 2017 with flows through airports higher by 1.5 percent and traffic through road border-crossing points up a by 30.2 percent.

According to central bank provisional data, the balance of travel services in February 2018 showed a deficit of 7 million euros, compared to a surplus of 20 million euros in February 2017.