Hellastat Sees Further Rise in Incoming Air Traffic to Greece

Photo: AIA

Athens-based statistics company Hellastat, says it expects a further rise in incoming air traffic for 2016, which is set to further establish Greece as a prime tourist destination.

“Forecasts for 2016 are cautiously optimistic in view of the fact that the numbers of arrivals at higher levels presuppose financial and political stability. The first indications are positive, however, as airlines are planning to extend their routes and increase seating capacity due to unrest in Turkey, which is expected to suffer significant losses,” Maria Metaxogeni, Managing Director of Infobank Hellastat said.

Hellastat cites a 15.4 percent increase to 14.58 million travelers for 2014 with Athens taking the lead, welcoming 770,000 additional travelers through Athens International Airport (AIA), up by 29.4 percent to 3.39 million.

The report further underlines that 2015 was a good year despite a series of negative factors, including the imposition of capital controls last summer, the massive refugee influx to the Greek islands and the ongoing political turmoil.

To demonstrate, Hellastat cites Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) data for the first 10 months of 2015, with foreign arrivals at main airports up by 5.7 percent, reaching 15 million travelers. Athens took center stage with the number of visitors increasing by 23.6 percent to 3.76 million.