Hellenic Statistical Authority: Tourist arrivals up 16% in the first quarter

ELSTAT’s report is based on data from border controls made by the Bank of Greece.

According to a report released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT)on Wednesday, the number of tourists arriving in Greece in the first quarter of 2014 totaled 1,186,900, up 16% compared with the same period last year.

ELSTAT’s report is based on data from border controls made by the Bank of Greece. Those data show that arrivals from Europe totaled 930,307 or 78.4% of total arrivals, up 15.2%.

Arrivals from European Union countries totaled 598,439 (up 18.2%). From January-March 2014, arrivals from the UK rose 58.7% to 73,245, from Romania totaled 49,118 (up 84.9%), from Cyprus totaled 81,730 (up 36.1%), from Bulgaria totaled 169,077 (up 12.9%), from Russia totaled 25,852 (up 100%) and from the Netherlands totaled 23,705 (an increase of 110%).

On the other hand, arrivals from Albania fell 19.1% to 103,765, from France dropped by 38.9% to 11,808 and from Germany fell by 1.2% to 81,890 tourists.

Arrivals from Asia totaled 196,236, up 23.2% in the first quarter, including a 6.6% rise from Turkey and a 214.6% increase from China.