Bank of Greece on tourism: Greece surpasses its competitors with the islands as its “flagship”

The balance of travel services posted a surplus of €71.4 million in December 2022 and of €15,696.1 million in the year 2022, as the Bank of Greece published on Friday.

During the last year before the pandemic, the balance of travel services had posted a surplus of €28.6 million in December 2019 and of €15,435.0 million in the year 2019.

Travel receipts rose year-on-year by 32.8% in December 2022 and by 67.9% in the year 2022.

Compared with the respective periods of 2019, travel receipts were lower by 16.1% in December 2022 and by 3.0% in the year 2022.

Inbound traveller flows rose year-on-year by 52.5% in December 2022 and by 89.3% in the year 2022.

Compared with the respective periods of 2019, inbound traveller flows were lower by 16.2% in December 2022 and by 11.2% in the year 2022.

Balance of travel services

Based on provisional data, the balance of travel services in December 2022 cshowed a surplus of €71.4 million, down from a surplus of €73.4 million in December 2021. More specifically, in December 2022, travel receipts rose by 32.8% to €247.1 million, up from €186.1 million in December 2021, while travel payments also increased by 55.9% (December 2022: €175.7 million, December 2021: €112.7 million). The rise in travel receipts was due to a 52.5% increase in inbound traveller flows, as average expenditure per trip declined by 14.2%. Net travel receipts offset 2.4% of the goods deficit and contributed 20.0% of total net services receipts.

In 2022, the balance of travel services showed a surplus of €15,696.1 million, up from a surplus of €9,390.2 million in 2021. Travel receipts rose by €7,128.6 million, or 67.9%, to €17,631.3 million, while travel payments also increased by €822.6 million, or 73.9%, to €1,935.1 million. The rise in travel receipts stemmed from an 89.3% increase in inbound traveller flows, as average expenditure per trip declined by 11.9%. Net travel receipts offset 40.2% of the goods deficit and contributed 80.9% of total net services receipts.

Travel receipts

In Deceber 2022, as mentioned previously, travel receipts rose by 32.8% year-on-year. In more detail, receipts from residents of EU27 countries decreased by 0.6% to €88.2 million, while receipts from outside the EU27 increased by 59.9% (December 2022: €152.9 million, December 2021: €95.6 million). The fall in receipts from within the EU27 is attributed to a decrease of 7.1% in receipts from residents of non-euro area EU27 countries, which stood at €14.5 million, as receipts from euro area residents rose by 0.8% (December 2022: €73.7 million, December 2021: €73.2 million).

More specifically, among major euro area countries of origin, receipts from Germany declined by 16.4% to €21.8 million, as did receipts from France, which dropped by 30.6% to €6.9 million. Turning to non-EU27 countries, receipts from the United Kingdom dropped by 24.6% to €22.1 million, while receipts from the United States rose by 368.6% to €40.7 million. Receipts from Russia decreased by 85.8% to €0.8 million.

In 2022, travel receipts totalled €17,631.3 million, up by 67.9% relative to the previous year. This development was due to increases in receipts from residents of the EU27 by 46.8% to €9,977.7 million and in receipts from residents outside the EU27 by 105.2% to €7,245.9 million. In greater detail, receipts from euro area residents rose by 44.9% to €8,019.6 million, as did receipts from residents of non-euro area EU27 countries, which increased by 55.2% to €1,958.1 million.

Specifically, receipts from Germany rose by 40.6% to €3,255.2 million, as did receipts from France, by 27.9% to €1,268.0 million. Turning to non-EU27 countries, receipts from the United Kingdom increased by 113.1% to €3,123.4 million. Receipts from the United States also increased by 100.6% to €1,195.7 million, while receipts from Russia declined by 63.9% to €41.3 million.

Inbound traveller flows

The number of inbound travellers in December 2022 rose by 52.5% year-on-year to 580.1 thousand. Specifically, traveller flows through airports increased by 43.3% compared with December 2021, while traveller flows through road border-crossing points rose by 77.1%. This overall increase was due to higher traveller flows from both within the EU27 (up by 44.6%) and outside the EU27 (up by 58.1%). In greater detail, travellers from within the euro area rose by 27.6% to 163.0 thousand, while travellers from non-euro area EU27 countries also increased by 113.2% to 67.6 thousand.

Specifically, the number of travellers from Germany increased by 3.3% to 44.7 thousand as did the number of travellers from France, by 18.1% to 17.8 thousand. Turning to non-EU27 countries, the number of travellers from the United Kingdom increased by 60.5% to 68.9 thousand and from the United States by 216.2% to 45.5 thousand. Finally, the number of travellers from Russia fell by 90.4% to 0.8 thousand.

Over 2022, the number of inbound visitors rose by 89.3% to 27,835.5 thousand (2021: 14,704.9 thousand). Specifically, traveller flows through airports increased by 81.5%, while traveller flows through road border-crossing points rose by 133.1%. In the period under review, the number of travellers from within the EU27 rose by 67.9% year-on-year to 16,994.9 thousand, while travellers from outside the EU27 increased by 136.6% to 10,840.7 thousand. The number of travellers from within the euro area rose by 57.2%, as did travellers from non-euro area EU27 countries, by 96.4%.

Specifically, travellers from Germany increased by 45.0% to 4,352.3 thousand and those from France by 49.6% to 1,757.6 thousand. Turning to non-EU27 countries, the number of travellers from the United Kingdom rose by 181.9% to 4,485.3 thousand, as well as from the United States by 174.9% to 1,088.7 thousand. Finally, the number of travellers from Russia dropped by 69.8% to 36.1 thousand.

Comparison with 2019, the last year before the pandemic

Compared with December 2019, in December 2022, travel receipts fell by 16.1% although the average expenditure per trip increased by 0.5%, as inbound traveller flows dropped by 16.2%.

Compared with 2019, in 2022, travel receipts fell by 3.0%, as did inbound traveller flows by 11.2%, while average expenditure per trip increased by 9.7%.