Alpha Bank: Greece Tourism Set for Another Strong Year

Greece’s tourism industry is set for another strong year on the back of a quick post-Covid recovery in 2022 with most indexes fast approaching 2019 levels, said Alpha Bank.

More specifically, citing central bank 2022 data, the number of international arrivals reached 27.8 million and travel receipts 17.6 billion euros, down by 11.2 percent and 3 percent, respectively on corresponding pre-pandemic 2019 figures.

“The outlook for Greek tourism this year remains bright, despite the ongoing inflationary pressures facing Europe and uncertainty due to the war still raging in its territory,” said Alpha Bank.

Source: BoG.

The bank’s analysts cite data from the first months of the year, which reflect a strong demand for Greece. Indicatively, international tourist arrivals in January and February increased by 4.3 percent over the same period in 2019. At the same time, according to regional airport operator Fraport, in January international arrivals across the country’s airports were up by 0.8 percent over January 2019.

Meanwhile, hotel prebookings through to mid-February are already exceeding 2019 levels.

The report’s analysts attribute the positive performance to an extended tourist season, a key tourism ministry priority, the fairer distribution of travelers to all Greek regional units, as well as to new or upgraded infrastructure.

Port infrastructure upgrades in the pipeline under the Greece 2.0 recovery plan are also set to attract more higher spending tourists to more destinations across the country.

Lastly, Alpha Bank analysts refer to European Travel Commission (ETC) report which forecasts the number of tourist arrivals to Europe to rise to 34.9 million by 2025 from 27.9 million in 2019.

The ETC said last month that Greece was among the top destinations in Europe to win over travelers last year and cover lost ground.

Earlier this year, Alpha Bank said that maintaining strong tourism demand and achieving higher travel-related revenues were crucial for the Greek economy in 2023 citing the global energy crisis and high inflation as the greatest threats to growth.