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Inbound Tourists to Greece Drop 1.6% in First Half of 2016

AIA_15yrs_1aThe number of inbound visitors to Greece during the first half of the year dropped by 1.6 percent to 7,446 thousand from 7,566 thousand in the same period of 2015, according to provisional data released on Monday by the Bank of Greece.

According to the data, in January-June 2016, arrivals by air rose by 6.1 percent, while those by road fell by 14.4 percent. In the period under review, arrivals from within the EU28 increased by 0.9 percent year-on-year to 4,942 thousand, whereas those from outside the EU28 fell by 6.1 percent to 2,504 thousand. Arrivals from the euro area declined by 1.8 percent, while those from the non-euro area EU28 countries increased by 3.5 percent.

Arrivals from Germany rose by 0.8 percent to 888 thousand, while those from France fell by 20.6 percent to 368 thousand. Arrivals from the United Kingdom increased by 13.1 percent to 928 thousand. In regards to non-EU28 countries, arrivals from Russia rose by 7.7 percent to 162 thousand and from the United States increased by 6.4 percent to 305 thousand.

In June alone, the number of inbound visitors declined by two percent year-on-year to 2,971 thousand. Specifically, arrivals by air rose by 2.7 percent, while those by road dropped by 15.7 percent. This development reflected an 18.1 percent decrease in arrivals from outside the EU28, whereas arrivals from within the EU28 increased by 6.5 percent.

Balance of travel services

MYKONOS_01_ChoraDuring the first six months of the year, the balance of travel services showed a surplus of 2,991 million euros, down 6.7 percent from a surplus of 3,205 million euros in the same period of 2015. This development was due to a decrease of 242 million euros or 5.8 percent in travel receipts, as travel payments dropped by 28 million euros or 2.9 percent.

The decrease in travel receipts resulted from a 1.6 percent decline in arrivals and a 4.9 percent fall in average expenditure per trip. Net receipts from travel services offset 36.1 percent of the goods deficit and accounted for 65.3 percent of total net receipts from services.

The balance of travel services showed a surplus of 1,719 million euros in June 2016, down 3.6 percent from a surplus of 1,783 million euros in June 2015. More specifically, travel receipts decreased by 5.4 percent to 1,851 million euros in June 2016, from 1,957 million euros in the same month of 2015.

Travel payments fell more sharply, by 23.9 percent (June 2016: 132 million euros, June 2015: 174 million euros). The drop in travel receipts resulted from a four percent decline in average expenditure per trip and a two percent fall in arrivals. Net receipts from travel services accounted for 79.8 percent of total net receipts from services and more than offset (122.3 percent) the goods deficit.

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