German Tourists Picked Greece in June

Falassarna, Crete. Photo Source: Visit Greece / Y. Skoulas

A total of 260,000 German tourists visited Greece in June, demonstrating their confidence in the country, said Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis during an online event organized by the German Hellenic Chamber of Industry and Commerce on Tuesday.

“Traditionally, the German market has been a pillar of Greek tourism,” said Theoharis, adding that before the Covid-19 health crisis, almost 4 million Germans chose Greece annually.

“Even today, under these circumstances they continue to give Greece their vote of confidence, maintaining the lead in incoming tourism flows with more than 260,000 visitors in June,” he said.

The tourism minister went on to say that Greece’s brand name was particularly strong in Germany, which he confirmed during his recent visit to Berlin. “Despite the instability worldwide, German tourists are investing in the security that our country offers and seek to experience Greek hospitality,” he added.

German tourists account for 12% of total arrivals in Greece

Speaking during the same event, the president of the German-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Konstantinos Marangos, said that in the last three years, Germany is the leading source market for Greek tourism accounting for 12 percent of total arrivals and 16 percent of total tourism receipts

He added that Germany is also considered to be a strategic investment partner. Indicatively, he referred to the 2001-2019 period when net direct investment from Germany came to 8.2 billion euros. According to the Bank of Greece, Germany is in the lead in terms of foreign direct investments accounting for 20.5 percent of the total, he said.

Marangos said that Germany was also the second-largest receiver of Greek exports, valued at 2.4 billion euros up by 4.4 percent in 2020 against 2019. 

On his part, State of North Rhine-Westphalia’s finance minister Lutz Lienenkämper said he hoped to contribute to the planned synergies between Greece and Germany, and referred to the strong ties between the two countries.

Lienenkämper said he aimed to further “expand and strengthen this connection”, adding that the State of North Rhine-Westphalia was “developing, is sustainable and creates new roads to the future”.