Greece’s Jan-Sept Travel Arrivals by Road Tumble 76.1%

Promahonas checkpoint. Photo Source: @EODY

Arrivals to Greece by road in the first nine months of 2020 dropped by 76.1 percent and reached only 2.5 million compared to 10.3 million during January – September 2019.

According to data published by SETE Intelligence (INSETE), during January – February 2020, before the Covid-19 lockdown in Greece, road arrivals saw an increase of 26.5 percent and reached 1.2 million from 913,000 during the same period in 2019.

However, in March, when Greece and other European cities went into lockdown, arrivals by car dropped by 46.7 percent and reached 243.000 compared to the same month last year.

All Greek border stations were closed during April and May, with some remaining shut for a longer period until September such as Agios Konstantinos (closed from April until September) and Kastanies (closed during March – September). The border stations of Doirani, Mertzani, Kyprinou and Sagiada were shut in August and September.

Photo source: thessaloniki.travel

In June, road arrivals were down by 73.8 percent at 350,000, while in July – when Greece’s summer tourism season opened, road arrivals reached 484,000, down by 77 percent compared to the same month in 2019.

August, which is usually Greece’s strongest month in tourism, saw arrivals by car significantly drop by 94.9 percent to reach only 127,000, while in September arrivals reached 97,000, down by 94 percent.

According to INSETE analysts, during January – September, the largest decrease – 84.2 percent – was reported in road arrivals from North Macedonia.

Arrivals from Bulgaria were also down by 74.2 percent; from Albania by 66.9 percent; and from Turkey by 75.5 percent.

International arrivals to Greece by air

INSETE also noted that Greece’s airports, during the first nine months of the year, received 5 million international passengers compared to the 18.8 million during the same period in 2019, which shows a drop of 73.4 percent.

In total, during the January-September 2020 period, Greece welcomed only 7.5 million international air and road arrivals, compared to the 29.1 million tourists recorded for the first nine months of 2019.