Greek Tourism Revenue Surges 12.2% in First Half of 2024

Photo source: Visit Greece / © P. Merakos

Greek tourism revenue increased by 12.2 percent in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, according to recent data from the Bank of Greece (BoG).

During January to June 2024, travel receipts in Greece rose by 754.8 million euros, reaching a total of 6.921 billion euros. The revenue growth was driven by a 15.5 percent increase in inbound tourist arrivals, which reached 11.625 million. However, the average expenditure per trip decreased by 3.1 percent.

Germany led the revenue sources for Greece in the first half of the year, contributing over 1.2 billion euros, followed by the United Kingdom with just over 1 billion euros, and the United States in third place with 540 million euros.

Source: Bank of Greece

Specifically, during the first seven months of the year, receipts from Germany grew by 7.4 percent to 1.22 billion euros. Receipts from France also increased, rising by 2.5 percent to 445.7 million euros. Receipts from Italy saw a notable increase of 48.8 percent, reaching 329.0 million euros.

Receipts from the United Kingdom rose by 19.9 percent to a little over 1 billion euros, while receipts from the United States increased by 1.0 percent to 540.1 million euros. In contrast, receipts from Russia fell significantly by 70.1 percent to 5.2 million euros.

June revenue up

Photo source: Visit Greece

In June alone, travel receipts grew by 7.7 percent year-on-year, totaling 3.1 billion euros. This increase was due to an 8.8 percent rise in inbound traveler numbers, while average expenditure per trip decreased by 1.4 percent.

During June, Greece saw the highest revenue from British tourists, with receipts from the United Kingdom increasing by 42.5 percent to 608.9 million euros. Receipts from France grew by 1.0 percent to 163.9 million euros, and receipts from Italy rose by 12.9 percent to 144.9 million euros.

Conversely, receipts from Germany decreased by 1.4 percent to 522.9 million euros, and receipts from the United States and Russia also saw declines — down 32.8 percent to 143.1 million euros and 60.2 percent to 2.5 million euros, respectively.