Travel takings grow 13.2 pct y-o-y in Q1
Travel receipts amounted to 554 million euros in the first quarter of the year, up 13.2 percent from the same period in 2017, according to Bank of Greece figures.
Although this is traditionally a quiet period, it does suggest that tourism revenues will increase by more than 10 percent for the year as a whole.
The driver for that annual Q1 growth was the capital, as Athens is evolving into a very popular city-break destination.
The biggest increase in revenue terms among Greek tourism’s main markets came from Germany (up 35.7 percent), the United Kingdom (up 24 percent) and France (up 17.4 percent).
In contrast, there was a considerable decline in tourists from certain countries outside the European Union, such as Russia (down 34.1 percent) and the US (down 33.6 percent).
Incoming passenger traffic rose 12.4 percent in January-March on an annual basis.
