Greece’s Inbound Visitors Grow 3.2% in First Four Months of 2017

The number of inbound visitors to Greece during the first four months of the year increased by 3.2 percent to 2,602 thousand, from 2,523 thousand in the same period of 2016, the Bank of Greece said on Wednesday.

According to data, during the January-April period, Greece’s travel receipts increased by 2.4 percent, compared to the same period of 2016, to 997 million euros.

The Bank of Greece data showed that the development is attributed to a 9.2 percent rise in receipts from within the EU28 to 545 million euros, as receipts from outside the EU28 fell by 5.6 percent to 412 million euros.

In particular, receipts from euro area residents increased by 29.3 percent to 381 million euros and receipts from residents of non-euro area EU28 countries dropped by 19.9 percent to 164 million euros. Specifically, receipts from France rose by 89.3 percent to 81 million euros and those from Germany by 20.6 percent to 112 million euros. Receipts from the United Kingdom decreased by 33.1 percent to 70 million euros. Regarding non-EU28 countries, receipts from Russia dropped by 1.4 percent to 23 million euros and those from the United States by 27 percent to 78 million euros.

Moreover, during the first four months of the year, the number of visitors from France increased by 42.4 percent to 119 thousand, as did the number of visitors from Germany, by 38.7 percent, to 247 thousand. Visitors from the United Kingdom decreased by 16.6 percent to 172 thousand. Turning to non-EU28 countries, the number of visitors from Russia decreased by 4.9 percent to 38 thousand, as did the number of tourists from the United States, by 6.4 percent, to 117 thousand.