Tourism, a traditionally strong pillar of Greece’s economy, holds a decisive role in the country’s efforts to recover from the current debt crisis, a survey carried out by Alpha Bank shows.
According to the latest Central Bank of Greece data released last week, the number of arrivals as well as tourism revenue is on the rise this year.
The first six months of 2017 saw a 6.6% increase in foreign arrivals compared with the same period of 2016 (7.9 million this year up from 7.5 million in the same period of last year), Greekreporter.com reported.
Tourism revenues increased by 7.1% in the first half of the year compared with 2016, hitting €4.1 billion ($4.9 billion).
According to the Alpha Bank analysis, which also cites World Travel and Tourism Council projections, the Greek tourism sector accounted for 18.6% of Greek GDP last year.
Tourism’s contribution to Greece’s GDP is expected to grow to 19.6% this year and over 20% in 2018, according to the experts.
In 2012, Greece recorded 16.9 million arrivals and €10.4 million in revenues, while last year the country welcomed 28 million foreign visitors, generating €13.2 billion.
According to Greek Tourism Confederation estimates, Greece will attract more than 30 million tourists this year and revenue will exceed €14.5 billion, setting a record.
The surge in arrivals and receipts is attributed by officials and representatives of the sector to a series of factors, the Alpha Bank survey showed.
These factors include measures taken in recent years to make the Greek tourism product more competitive, and changes to visa issuance procedures, which facilitate the journey of tourists from Russia or China to Greece.
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