SETE Expects Tourism Revenues to Reach €19bn in 2022

Despite starting off slow, tourism revenues in 2022 are expected to reach 19 billion euros exceeding pre-pandemic 2019 levels, said Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) President Yiannis Retsos during the “Ellada Meta” conference held in Athens this week.

Citing Bank of Greece seven-month data to July 2022, Retsos confirmed that tourism-related revenues will definitely surpass 2019’s record 18.2 billion euros.

“We can expect revenues in the range of 18.8-19 billion euros, which is very important considering that this year’s budget predicted 80 percent of 2019 revenue,” he said.

Retsos forecast comes on the back of a recent Alpha Bank report which estimates that tourism revenue this year will reach 20 billion euros.

Looking towards 2023

Acting CEO, Chipita S.A., Spyros Theodoropoulos; SETE President and CEO Electra Hotels & Resorts, Yiannis Retsos. Photo credits: Christos Simatos

Looking ahead, Retsos expects 2023 to be a good year for Greece despite the geopolitical turmoil, the energy crisis and inflation, which he said will limit the buying power in Greece’s main markets, mainly those in Europe.

“Greece managed to create a very strong tourist brand. We are now among the five most important tourist brands in the world and Greece is in the top three choices of potential travelers in main target markets, and especially in European markets,” he said. “This makes us optimistic.”

Retsos went on to underline the importance of taking this year’s good performance a step further. Among others, he referred to the need for diversification of the tourism product, adding that a top priority was to ensure effective destination management and upgraded infrastructure.

Lastly, commenting on the issue of staff shortages in tourism, Retsos said it was a result of the sector’s seasonality and not low salaries, which he said are regulated by the market.