Industry Reports & Trends

At midyear, European tourism continues to grow steadily, and has proven resilient to economic woes, geopolitical tensions or threats of terrorism, according to the European Travel Commission’s latest report “European Tourism – Trends & Prospects”.

International visitor arrivals by air in Greece have posted a 5.7 percent increase in the first 10 months of 2015 with almost 15 million visitors. SETE estimates that Greek tourism is on track to end 2015 with a record of 26 million international arrivals.

Athens International Airport (AIA) is among the Top 5 European facilities demonstrating the highest growth in September, according to a monthly traffic report released by European airport trade body, ACI Europe.

Passengers at Athens International Airport (AIA) in October reached 1.58 million, corresponding to an increase of 10.2 percent compared to prior-year levels.

The European Travel Commission (ETC) called at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London for reform of the way visas are granted to leisure and business travellers.

International tourist arrivals grew by 4.3 percent in the first eight months of 2015, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, fuelled by strong results in Europe and consolidating the trend of recent years.

Incoming tourism to Greece continues to be strong despite the political and financial turmoil this year, but domestic tourism is shrinking, the Institute for Tourism Research and Forecasts (ITEP) found in its latest report.

Hotels belonging to large accommodation chains recorded 67 percent higher revenue per room in 2014 against independent hotel units in Greece, while occupancy and room rates were significantly higher, an Institute for Tourism Research and Forecasts (ITEP) report found.

Greece may be 3rd in Europe with regard to the number of cruise passengers it receives with a 14.1 percent market share, but it lags behind in the total revenues it collects, ranking 8th, according to a report released by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).

Travelers from the UK and Germany boosted the Greek economy by spending about 1.48 billion euros each between January and August this year, according to the Bank of Greece.