Record revenues for tourism
First seven months of 2023 saw takings of 10.3 bln euros, up 8% on 2019
Greek tourism has set a new revenue record so far this year, according to official figures, while there is strong demand for travel to Greece during the fall, not only in October but also in November.
This fact reinforces estimates that the year will close with travel receipts of more than 20 billion euros and approximately 35 million foreign visitor arrivals. The strong demand for fall holidays in Greece, from markets such as Germany and the UK, is also the reason why the largest European travel agency, TUI AG, has extended its activity in this country until mid-November, adding more than 30,000 flights seats on flights from the United Kingdom to Greece as well as Turkey.
Demand in October is also 8% higher than last year, according to what TUI announced in a regular analyst update. Internationally the company fielded 13.7 million bookings for this summer, up 5% on last year and close to pre-pandemic levels levels – i.e. at 96% of 2019.
According to data from the Bank of Greece, travel receipts during the first seven months of this year amounted to €10.321 billion, compared to €9.116 billion in the same period in 2019, the last year before the pandemic. This is a percentage increase of 13.21% – i.e. €1.2 billion.
Compared to the first seven months of 2022, receipts have increased by 20.2%, roughly the same as arrivals of foreign travelers in Greece (+21.9%), the central bank reported. These figures include only one of the three seasonally strong months of Greek tourism. Data for August and September are expected to confirm this trend, albeit at a softer pace.
TUI CEO Sebastian Ebel said: “We see a lot of demand in the last weeks of the summer season, which traditionally lasts until the end of October. Consequently we have recently decided to extend the season to November, particularly in Turkey and Greece, to meet demand outside the traditional summer season.”
Still, he estimates that in the medium term, climate change and extreme weather events will divert a part of the demand for vacations to cooler summer destinations.
