BoG: 33.8 Million Tourists Visit Greece in Jan-Oct, Tourism Revenues Soar to €20.9 Billion

Photo source: Region of Attica

Greece welcomed 33.788 million foreign tourists in the first ten months of 2024, generating 20.94 billion euros in travel receipts, according to provisional data released by the Bank of Greece (BoG) on Monday.

Tourism revenues rise despite lower average spending

From January to October 2024, Greece’s travel balance showed a surplus of 18.664 billion euros, an increase from 17.834 billion euros in the same period last year. Travel receipts rose by 5.5 percent to 20.935 billion euros, while travel payments increased by 13.2 percent to 2.271 billion euros.

Source: Bank of Greece

The rise in travel receipts is attributed to a 9.2 percent increase in incoming travel traffic to 33.788 million arrivals, even though the average expenditure per trip declined by 4.3 percent. Notably, net receipts from travel services offset 63.8 percent of the goods balance deficit and contributed 85.2 percent of total net receipts from services.

EU travelers lead in tourism spending

As mentioned, Greece during the first 10 months of the year saw revenue from travel receipts reach 20.935 billion euros.

Receipts from European Union residents rose by 7.7 percent to 11.675 billion euros, while those from non-EU residents saw a marginal increase of 0.3 percent to 8.244 billion euros.

Revenue from eurozone countries grew by 4.1 percent to 9.16 billion euros, and spending by travelers from non-euro EU countries surged by 23.5 percent to 2.515 billion euros.

Source: Bank of Greece

Germany and UK contribute most to Greece’s tourism revenues

Among individual countries, Germany and the United Kingdom contributed the most to Greece’s tourism revenues during the first ten months of the year.

German visitors spent 3.609 billion euros, a 3.9 percent increase compared to the same period a year ago, while British spending fell slightly by 1.3 percent to 3.215 billion euros. Receipts from France dropped by 10 percent to 1.262 billion euros, while Italian visitors increased their spending by 15.7 percent, reaching 1.204 billion euros.

Outside the EU, revenue from U.S. tourists grew by 10.1 percent to 1.416 billion euros, while receipts from Russian visitors plummeted by 51.3 percent to 15.2 million euros.

Tourist arrivals climb

Incoming travel traffic to Greece in January-October increased by 9.2 percent to 33.788 million travelers, compared to 30.934 million in the same period of 2023. Arrivals through airports rose by 9.9 percent, while road border crossings increased by 8.5 percent.

Tourists from EU countries accounted for 20.73 million arrivals, a 10.7 percent rise, while visitors from non-EU countries grew by 7 percent to 13.058 million.

Source: Bank of Greece

Key markets like Germany saw a 14.9 percent increase in arrivals, reaching 5.219 million travelers, while France recorded a 7.3 percent rise to 1.912 million visitors.

Italian arrivals grew by 10.3 percent to 1.937 million. In contrast, British arrivals fell by 2.2 percent to 4.393 million travelers, while U.S. arrivals rose by 7.9 percent to 1.37 million.

Russian arrivals saw the steepest decline, dropping by 54 percent to just 15.2 thousand travelers.