An explosive increase in tourism revenue of 34.2% was recorded in March and inbound travel traffic by 31.2%, according to data from the Central Bank.

The first quarter of the year saw a 28.2% increase in receipts and a 24.5% increase in inbound tourist traffic. A total of more than 2.3 million tourists visited Greece in the first quarter of the year.

Tourism traffic increased by 31.2% in the first quarter of 2024

In more detail, the number of tourists who visited our country exceeded 874 thousand in the quarter of January – March, registering an increase of 31.2% compared to the corresponding period last year.

This development, according to the data of the Bank of Greece, resulted in travel receipts showing an increase of 28.2% compared to the corresponding period of 2023 and reaching 942.0 million euros.

More specifically, an increase in receipts from residents of the EU-27 countries by 48.2% was recorded, which amounted to 470.0 million euros, as well as an increase in receipts from residents of other countries by 13.1% to 451, 4 million euros. In more detail, receipts from residents of the euro area countries amounted to 381.7 million euros, increased by 44.5%, while receipts from residents of the EU-27 countries outside the euro area increased by 66.5 % and amounted to 88.3 million euros. In particular, receipts from Germany increased by 43.8% and amounted to 96.4 million euros, while receipts from France decreased by 3.7% and amounted to 50.2 million euros. Receipts from Italy increased by 89.9%, reaching 57.6 million euros.

Regarding the increase in travel traffic, through airports it increased by 24.6%, while that through road border stations by 25.7%. During the reviewed period, travel traffic from the EU-27 countries amounted to 1,187.1 thousand travelers, showing an increase of 32.1% compared to the corresponding period of 2023, while travel traffic from other countries increased by 17.4% and amounted to 1,145.4 thousand travelers. Travel traffic from euro area countries increased by 34.2%, while travel traffic from EU-27 countries outside the euro area increased by 28.1%. In particular, travel traffic from Germany increased by 29.3% and reached 204.3 thousand travelers, while that from France increased by 27.3% and reached 118.1 thousand travelers. Travel traffic from Italy also increased by 39.2%, which amounted to 105.1 million euros. In relation to the other countries, travel traffic from the United Kingdom decreased by 20.4% to 118.1 thousand travelers, while that from the USA increased by 87.8% to 162.4 thousand travelers. Finally, travel traffic from Russia decreased by 72.6% and amounted to 1.2 thousand travelers.