Tourism is the only industry in the Greek economy that increased employment by 5.9% over the period between 2008-2016, according to the annual report released by the Institute of Tourist Studies and Forecasts (ITEP). The rise corresponds to 19,000 more jobs created, a stark contrast to the aggregate decline in all other industries in the economy where 934 thousand jobs were lost, according to the Greek Statistical Services (ELSTAT) over the same period (-20.3%). The report estimates that in May 2016 97,988 people were employed in Greek hotels, a figure that jumped to 144,390 in August of the same year. Furthermore, the percentage of female employees in the tourist industry accounts for 57% of the total. The tourist industry is one of the largest fields in job creation on a global scale, with over 100 million people having jobs directly linked to the field.

Stefania Souki