Greek tourism‘s contribution to the national economy grew in 2017, the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation (INSETE) said in a report released on Tuesday.

The report said that Greek tourism recorded an 11.4 pct increase in revenue in 2017 compared with 2016. The total increase of tourism activity is estimated at 1.56 billion euros (from 16.7 billion of direct contribution to GDP in 2016 to 18.3 billion in 2017). Tourism also directly contributed to the creation of 10.3 pct of GDP while its direct and indirect contribution is estimated to be between 22.6 pct and 27.3 pct.

The report said that for every one euro in tourism revenue, the country’s GDP increased by 2.2-2.65 euros. In the regions of Crete, South Aegean and Ionian Islands, tourism directly contributes to the creation of more than 47.4 pct of GDP. These three regions, which have among the highest per capita GDP in the country, justify the view that tourism leads to an improvement of living standards in regions with high tourism growth.

Greece welcomed around 27.2 million tourists in 2017 while revenues totaled 14.2 billion euros. Average per capita spending was 522.3 euros, up 1.6 pct from 2016.

Domestic tourism was 1,287 million euros for trips with more than one overnight stay in 2016, up from 1,264 million euros in 2015 but down from 3,868 billion in 2008.

Source: thegreekobserver