Greek Hotels Support Economy, Jobs in 2021

Greek hotel turnover in 2021 came to 3.8 billion euros demonstrating the hospitality sector’s contribution to the economy despite Covid-19, a report released by the Foundation for Economic & Industrial Research (IOBE) found.

According to IOBE data presented on the sidelines of the “#stirizo_HoReCa alliance” (Support HoReCa Alliance) event, the hospitality and F&B sectors combined are among the strongest contributors to Greek economic growth. 

Based on 2021 data, collectively the sectors contribute 9.8 billion euros to the economy accounting for more than 5.5 percent of the country’s GDP. 

Additionally, 112,000 companies across the sectors create some 552,000 direct jobs, which correspond to 11.9 percent of employment in Greece.

The hospitality and F&B sectors generate 3.6 billion euros in salaries and social insurance contributions and 1.181 billion euros in taxes accounting for 2.5 percent of the state’s tax revenues.

Looking at hotels, in 2021, a total of 138.6 million overnight stays were recorded: 92.7 million made by EU residents and 45.1 million from those outside the EU, reaching in the meantime 60 percent of pre-pandemic 2019 levels. 

According to IOBE data, Greek hotels contributed directly or indirectly 4.1 billion euros to the economy in 2021 and some 1.402 billion euros to public revenues. Direct added value came to 2.3 billion euros, while the indirect added value of supply chains due to the supply of goods and services came to 1.2 billion euros.

In 2021, the Greek hospitably sector employed approximately 112,000 people with 27 percent placed on furlough in 2020 and 43,000 losing their jobs due to the pandemic. According to the same data, 6.6 percent of those employed were between 15-24 years of age. Salaries and social security contributions made by the hotel indsutry came to 1.1 billion euros.

Overall, according to the IOBE, hotels supported some 170,000 jobs in 2021. 

Lastly, accommodation businesses invested 830 million euros in renovations and maintenance compared to 987 million euros in pre-Covid 2019.