Greece witnessed a remarkable surge in tourism activity in 2023, welcoming over 30 million visitors to its shores, according to the latest figures released by the Bank of Greece. Tourism revenues soared to 20.6 billion euros, marking a substantial increase of 16.5% compared to the previous year.
The surge in revenues can be attributed to a robust 20.8% increase in inbound tourism traffic, with the number of tourists reaching 30.08 million in 2023, compared to 29.875 million in 2022. Travel through airports increased by 12.7%, while road border stations experienced a staggering 34.9% surge in traffic.
Residents of the EU 27 countries accounted for 54.2% of total tourism receipts, contributing 11.169 billion euros, while receipts from residents of other countries surged by 18.3% to reach 8.6 billion euros.
Travel from EU-27 countries saw a notable increase of 15.6%, with Germany, Italy, and France emerging as key source markets. Germany saw a modest increase of 9.5%, while Italy witnessed a significant 30.4% surge in travelers. France, however, experienced a slight decrease of 4.2% in travel.
Non-resident traveller overnight stays in Greece reached 236,271 million in 2023, a notable increase of 7.3% compared to 2022. This increase was driven by a 1.5% rise in overnight stays by residents of EU 27 countries and a substantial 10.8% increase in overnight stays by residents of other countries.
Cruise tourism also experienced a significant upswing, with total cruise passenger receipts soaring by 84.1% to reach 908.4 million euros. Total non-cruise ship passenger nights increased by 121.5% to 9.4 million nights, positively impacting cruise revenue. The total number of cruise passengers surged by 61.1% to an estimated 3.4 million.
Piraeus emerged as the primary port in terms of cruise receipts, capturing 47.8% of the total, followed by the ports of Corfu and Santorini.
Overall, Greece's travel balance surplus reached 18.1 billion euros in 2023, representing a significant increase of 15.3% compared to the previous year. This surplus was driven by higher travel receipts, which surged by 16.5%, outpacing the growth in travel payments, which increased by 26.3%.
(Source: Oikonomia.gr)
