International Tourist Arrivals To Greece Surge 20.8% In Jan-July

The number of foreign tourist arrivals to Greece rose 20.8 percent in the first seven months of this year in comparison to the same period last year, according to recent data released by the Bank of Greece.

Greece welcomed some 10.5 million foreign visitors from January to July 2014, the data showed.

The surge in arrivals resulted to travel receipts increasing by 13.8 percent to 6.68 billion euros. This development is mainly due to the 15.9 percent increase in the spending of EU-28 residents, which amounted to 3.9 million euros. Also, receipts of residents of non-EU countries amounted to 2.55 million euros during the January-July 2014 period, which is an increase of 11.1 percent compared to the same period last year.

Major increase in arrivals from US, France and the UK

Visitors from the United States accounted for the strongest growth (28.5 percent) to Greece during the first seven months of this year at 293,000 visitors compared to the same period last year.

A significant increase in arrivals to Greece was also recorded from France (19.4 percent) and the United Kingdom (16.9 percent).

Arrivals from Russia showed a satisfying increase of 11.3 percent during the January-July 2014 period.