Greek tourism is on track for a new arrivals record
By Danai Alexaki
Greek tourism is on track for a new arrivals record, surpassing the “golden” year of 2019, according to a study by the Directorate of Economic Analysis of the National Bank of Greece (NBG), which estimates that this year’s tourist receipts could approach 21 billion euros. However, the study also highlights the challenges caused by the consequences of climate change and emerging competitive markets.
Greek tourism in 2023 is expected to surpass the record year of 2019. NBG analysts noted that foreign arrivals of tourists in Greece during the spring quarter (March-May) exceeded the levels of 2019 by 10% and receipts by 19% (2.8 billion euros), confirming the positive expectations.
“Traditional” markets play a key role, with an increase in their share to 42% (from 39% in 2019), and the US market standing out with an almost doubling of arrivals compared to 2022 and consistently high spending per arrival. Healthy demand was reflected in strong hotel sales (+14% in the spring quarter in deflated terms compared to 2019), with urban areas leading the trend (+18%).
Passenger traffic at the Athens airport increased in July, totaling 3.29 million, up 16.1% compared with the same month last year and up 10.5% in comparison with July 2019.
Both domestic and international passenger traffic surpassed 2022 levels by 12.7% and 17.7%, respectively, while compared with 2019 levels, domestic and international passengers were up 12.4% and 9.7%, respectively.
Passenger traffic in the seven-month period from January to July was 15.37 million, up 30.1% from 2022 and up 7.9% from 2019. Domestic and international passenger traffic exceeded 2022 levels by 23.3% and 33.5%, respectively, while compared with 2019 they were up 10.4% and 6.9%, respectively. The number of scheduled flights totaled 133,700 in the January-July period, up 14.1% from 2022 and 4.7% from 2019.
（Editor:Liao Yifan）
