International Air Arrivals To Greece Up In First Five Months Of 2014

Visitor arrivals to Greece increased by 16.9 percent during the January-May 2014 period reaching 3.6 million, according to data released recently by the Civil Aviation Authority.

This means that already in the first five months of the year, over more than half a million foreign visitors have visited the country by air, compared to the same period of 2013, which was a record year for Greek tourism.

According to reports, the positive performance of arrivals in Athens seems to be behind the success as some 1.6 million tourists arrived in the Greek capital during the first five months of the year.

In May alone, the total number of foreign arrivals in all Greek airports increased by 12.9 percent compared to the same month last year, reaching 1.78 million.

According to the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE), overnights and turnover in Greek hotels increased by 14 percent and 20 percent, respectively, during the January-May 2014 period.

SETE expects Greece to welcome 19 million tourists this year.