Greece Travel Receipts Up by 51% in January – June

Travel receipts in the first six months of the year increased by 51 per cent from the same period in the previous year,  the Bank of Greece said in a statement on Monday.

There were important increases in receipts from travellers, but these are of course from the extremely low numbers seen in 2020.

This development was driven by receipts from residents of the EU27, which rose by 153.3 per cent to €769 million in the six-month period, as receipts from residents outside the EU27 fell by 24.1 per cent to €325 million.

In particular, receipts from Germany increased by 299.5 per cent year-on-year to €275 million and receipts from France increased by 486.3 per cent to €105 million. Turning to non-EU27 countries, receipts from the United Kingdom rose by 28.4 per cent to €72 million, while receipts from the United States decreased by 29.4 per cent to €43 million. Receipts from Russia also decreased, by 72.7 per cent to €3 million.

In January-June 2021, the balance of travel services marked a surplus of €826 million up from a surplus of €256 million euros for the same period in the previous year.

Surprisingly, the number of inbound travellers actually decreased, despite the impressive numbers above.

In January-June 2021, the number of inbound travellers fell by 20.4 per cent to1,733 thousand (January-June 2020: 2,178 thousand).

Greece saw a record month in June of this year. In June 2021, travel receipts rose by 851.8 per cent year-on-year. In more detail, receipts from residents of EU27 countries increased by 1,208.0 per cent to €558 million, while receipts from outside the EU27 rose by 447.1 per cent (June 2021: €221 million, June 2020: €41 million).

In June, among major euro area countries of origin, receipts from Germany rose by 1,570.9 per cent to €212 million and receipts from France increased by 4,773.9 per cent to €75 million. Turning to non-EU27 countries, receipts from the United Kingdom increased by 1,838.8 per cent to €56 million and receipts from the United States increased by 9,853.4 per cent to €35 million. Receipts from Russia also increased, to €2 million.

Despite these impressive numbers, Greece will be seeking to cover lost ground from the past summer with tourist bookings into September and October, said Deputy Tourism Minister Sofia Zacharaki.