Worst August in years for Greek tourism, BoG data shows

Worst numbers with the exception of 2010

According to data released by the Bank of Greece (BoG), revenue from the tourism industry had dropped by 9.85 billion Euros (7.1%) over the past 8-moth period, compared to the same period in 2015, which is a record low from the start of the year in January till the end of the summer season in August. Revenues fells a whopping 9.2% in the month of August, corresponding to 3.16 billion Euros. The figures, published in newspaper “Kathimerini”, were also confirmed by a report released from the World Travel and Tourism Council on global trends, which demonstrates Greece has had one of its poorest years regarding revenues. The report says Greece, along with Turkey and Russia have seen their tourism industries adversely affected in the first months of 2016, which is reflected in their revenues and by extent their countries’ GDPs. In comparison, other competitive countries like Cyprus and Spain have recorded increases in revenue from inbound tourism over the same period. According to “Kathimerini”, the performance in August is a 10-year low for Greek tourism, with the exception of 2010. Professionals in the industry explain the rise in “cheap tourism” to the coup in Turkey and fear of terrorist attacks in the neighbouring country, but add that the overall geopolitical developments in the wider eastern Mediterranean region and the ongoing refugee crisis had a negative impact on Greek tourism in 2016. They add that the rise in international arrivals is largely due to the decision by Greek tourism business to lower their cots to attract foreigners. The President of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), Andreas Andreadis said that the refugee crisis, the Brexit and the hyper taxation are factor that had a negative impact on the industry, stressing that more arrivals do not translate into higher revenues.