Greece reported an increase in the number of tourist visits by 6.6 percent in August, but revenues from the sector fell by 1, 8 percent compared to August 2023, the Greek central bank announced, quoted by France Press.
For the period January - August, the number of tourists increased by 9.9 percent, and revenues reported a decrease by 3.2 percent, according to a message of the bank released yesterday.
Greece, where tourism is a leading economic sector, saw 32.7 million foreign tourist visits last year. This is an increase of 17.6 percent compared to 2022, while improving the record of 2019, when the Mediterranean country was visited by 31.3 million tourists.
Last year's results were achieved despite a prolonged heat wave and forest fires, which caused the evacuation of thousands of tourists from the popular tourist islands of Rhodes and Corfu.
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis assessed yesterday at a briefing that in 2024 Greece is expected to report a "new record".
The Ministry of Tourism should soon publish details on the exact picture of the summer season, that is, on the number of tourists arriving and revenues, he specified.
However, the opinions of experts in the industry are divided.
The most optimistic do not rule out a "correction of the figures" to a rise after September data is included according to the website moneyreview.gr.
However, other analysts are of the opinion that there is a "new trend" in the sector: "people are taking fewer days off and spending less money", which is especially true for citizens of northern countries, who represent the majority of tourists in Greece according to moneyreview.gr.
The summer of 2024 was the hottest on record in Greece, and August was the second hottest month after August 2021, according to the Athens National Observatory.
These climatic conditions also affect the length of stay of foreign tourists in Greece, notes moneyreview.gr.