Air arrivals grow 20 pct in Jan-Feb 2015
Air arrivals from abroad during the first couple of months of the year posted a much higher growth rate than in rival destinations such as Spain, Turkey and Cyprus.
Civil Aviation Authority data reveal that air arrivals from other countries to Greece in the year to end-February posted a 20 percent rise from the same period last year, reaching 714,804 passengers. Arrivals increased by 18.9 percent in February.
The jump is attributed to the momentum that Athens maintains as a tourism destination, as well as the positive course of visitors to Thessaloniki.
Greece has evolved into a particularly attractive destination in financial terms for markets such as Britain and the US owing to the decline of the euro against other currencies.
Notably, US website priceoftravel.com, which charts trip budgets in dollars for 56 European cities, has placed Athens 11th among the most financially attractive destinations in the continent.
The website stresses that due to the drop of the euro against the dollar, continental Europe is as much as 25 percent cheaper for US tourists this year than in 2014. It added that the financial crisis in Greece has kept prices low.
