Russian visitors projected to rise by 40 percent this year
The number of Russian tourists expected to visit the country this year is forecast to jump by 40 percent to some 400,000 people as Greece works on opening two more consulates in Russia, said the president of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), Athanassios Economou. «Last year about 270,000 to 280,000 Russians visited Greece, as shown by data issued by the consulates in Russia. This year, we expect about 350,000 to 400,000 visitors,» he was cited as saying in an interview with Russian agency Itar-Tass made public yesterday. Greece’s tourism sector, which accounts for about 20 percent of the country’s economy, has seen a 3 percent rise in arrivals in the first six months of the year, despite expectations by leading industry sources for a drop in visitor numbers for the whole of 2008. «Unfortunately, Greece’s two consulates are not enough to handle the continuing rise in the workload and we will try to open at least another two. One of which must be in Siberia,» he said. «We will try to open it by the end of the year.»
