Citigroup: Greek Tourism Industry Vulnerable Due to Covid-19

The Acropolis in Athens, Greece

The Greek tourism industry may find itself exposed in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic scoring 38.2 out of 100 on Citigroup’s latest report examining the impact of the health crisis on countries reliant on tourism.

According to a study carried out on 90 global economies with at least one confirmed coronavirus incident, Asian economies and small countries heavily dependent on tourism are most likely to find themselves susceptible to disruption.

At the top of the global list as most vulnerable to disruption in global travel and tourism activity are Macao (with a score of 100/100), Taiwan, Hong Kong, Spain and Italy.

In Europe, besides Spain and Italy, Iceland, Portugal, Croatia, Georgia, and Greece appear to be highly sensitive.

“Greece stands to lose more than other countries from the Covid-19 epidemic as tourism more than other sectors is impacted by the global economy,” said Citi’s analysts, adding that restricting the spread of the virus is of vital importance for the health of the Greek economy.

Indicatively, Citi notes, spending on recreational travel in Greece accounts for 94 percent of total tourism expenditure – one of the highest rates in the world. Following with similar rates are Croatia (93 percent), Luxembourg (94 percent), and Hungary (92 percent).

According to Citigroup data for 2018, travel and tourism contribute 20.6 percent to Greece’s GDP with about 1 million jobs, or accounting for 5.6 percent of total employment.