British, German Tourists Bring in the Cash to Greece

Travelers from the UK and Germany boosted the Greek economy by spending about 1.48 billion euros each between January and August this year, according to the Bank of Greece (BoG).

Spending by British tourists increased by 33.5 percent to 1.48 billon euros, while American travelers dug deeper into their pockets, up by 35.5 percent. German holidaymakers dropped to 2nd spot, dishing out approximately 1.43 billion euros in the same period, up by 10.2 percent.

In total, foreign travelers to Greek shores spent 10.4 billion euros in the first eight months of 2015, approximately one-third of which in August.

In the meantime, the number of British arrivals grew by almost 25 percent, of Germans by 22.5 percent, of Americans by 35.7 percent, with the number of incoming Russians dropping by 62.2 percent.

According to BoG provisional figures, the travel balance in August 2015 recorded a surplus of 3,181 million euros, compared to 2,970 million euros in the same month in 2014.

Travel receipts increased by 7.3 percent to to 3,395 million euros in August this year, compared to 3,164 million euros in the corresponding month last year. This rise is attributed to the 2.8 percent increase in the number of arrivals and to the 4.5 percent rise in average spending per trip.

Meanwhile, the travel balance in the first eight months of 2015, recorded a surplus of 9,099 million euros, up by 8.5 percent against a surplus 8,389 million euros in the respective period in 2014.

More specifically, travelers hailing from EU countries contributed to tourism revenue by an additional 15.8 percent, while receipts from tourists outside EU countries saw a 10.0 percent drop.

Among the “generous” travelers were the Germans, spending an additional 469 million euros on their holidays, up by 5.8 percent, and the French spending 409 million euros, up by 12.5 percent. Spending by British tourists soared by 24.0 percent to 451 million euros, compared to 364 million euros in August last year.