Int’l Air Arrivals to Greece Up by 30.3% in March 2018

Greece in March saw an increase in international arrivals by air but a drop in road arrivals, compared to the same month in 2017, the intelligence unit of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) said on Wednesday in its monthly bulletin.

According to SETE Intelligence, international airport arrivals to Greece in March registered an increase of 37.3 percent at regional airports and 27 percent in Athens, leading to a 30.3 percent rise overall. During the three first month of the year, international arrivals to Greece increased by 24.5 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, international road arrivals showed a drop of 13.6 percent. However, since the beginning of the year, road arrivals to Greece have increased by 5.2 percent.

SETE Intelligence’s monthly bulletin also includes data of the Bank of Greece for the month of February on Greece’s inbound traveler flows and travel receipts. According to the data, February saw inbound traveler flows in Greece increase by 8.9 percent year-on-year and travel receipts up by 12.6 percent to 152 million euros against 135 million euros in the same month in 2017. For the January-February period, the number of inbound visitors in Greece rose by 12.7 percent and travel receipts grew by 4.2 percent year-on-year.

Citing data from the Hellenic Slot Coordination Authority on scheduled airline seats at Greek regional airports for this year’s season, SETE Intelligence underlined the positive prospects of incoming tourism to Greece this year.

The specific data, which was collected by March 31, provides an increase in the number of incoming air routes at Greek regional airports by 18.2 percent or nearly 3 million airline seats for the upcoming season. “All major markets are showing rising numbers, with the exception of Russia, which, due to the rouble-euro exchange rate (80 rubles to the euro), is expected to deteriorate further,” SETE Intelligence said.

Moreover, the bulletin included information on Airbnb stays in Greece last year. According to an announcement by the online accommodation platform, tourists who stayed in short-term rentals in Greece in 2017 amounted to 1.37 million or about five percent of inbound travelers.

SETE Intelligence also said that Greece’s economy is on a steady recovery path, as the various indicators of employment, production, turnover, consumption, exports and imports are positively evolving.