Greece’s International Visitor Surge Continues

Greece has seen an impressive 21 percent leap in international visitor arrivals in the first four months of the year, according to data released by the Civil Aviation Authority.

According to Greek newspaper Kathimerini, total arrivals from abroad at the country’s airports amounted to 1.81 million in the January-April period, compared with almost 1.5 million during the same period of 2013. Notably, the largest share of this rise was at Athens International Airport.

The arrivals figure for all Greek airports last month was even more impressive, as the number of tourists visiting the country posted a 33.9 percent rise compared with April 2013.

More into the data, it is particularly encouraging that domestic air traffic in Greece is also showing signs of recovery, with domestic flight arrivals in the first four months of 2014 rising by 9.7 percent year-on-year to reach 1.42 million. Domestic arrivals increased by 29.8 percent in April alone.

Kathimerini noted that bookings from virtually all of the main markets are showing a significant increase, with the only concern being Russia.

There had been a strong rise in Russian arrivals during the first few months of the year, but since then there has been a marked slowdown.