The arrivals of non-resident travelers doubled in 2021 compared to the very bad performance in 2020, however the receipts did not reach – not even close – to the record set in 2019, the last “normal” year before the pandemic.
According to the Bank of Greece data on the balance of payments in December 2021, revenues for Greek tourism amounted to 10.653 billion euros from just 4.318 billion euros in 2020, but are about 40% less than in 2019, during which € 18.178 billion were collected.
Arrivals of non-resident travelers increased by 99.4% in 2021.
The data of the Bank of Greece
In December 2021, the current account deficit increased compared to the corresponding month of 2020, due to the deterioration of the balance of goods and, to a lesser extent, the balance of primary income, which was partially offset by the improvement of balances and services. income.
In 2021, the current account deficit decreased compared to 2020, due to the increase in the services balance surplus and the improvement in the primary and secondary income balances, which were partially offset by the deterioration of the balance sheet.
Current Account Balance
In December 2021, the current account deficit increased by 1.1 billion euros compared to the corresponding month of 2020 and amounted to 1.7 billion euros.
The increase in the goods deficit is due to the increase in imports, which was higher than in exports. Exports increased by 24.1% at current prices (decreased by 1.5% at constant prices) and imports by 44.7% at current prices (17.1% at constant prices). In particular, exports of non-fuel goods increased by 21.4% at current prices (10.4% at constant prices) and imports of non-fuel goods increased by 33.7% at current prices (25.4% at constant prices).
The surplus of the services balance doubled as a result of the improvement of all the individual balances (travel, transport and other services). Arrivals of non-resident travelers and related receipts increased significantly (by 294.0% and 406.9% respectively). In particular, receipts and arrivals amounted to 60% and 55% of those of December 2019 respectively. The transport surplus increased, mainly due to the improvement of the maritime transport surplus.
The surplus of the primary income balance recorded a decrease compared to the corresponding month of 2020, due to the decrease in interest, dividends and profits. The surplus of the secondary income balance increased compared to the corresponding month of 2020, mainly due to the increase in the net revenues of the general government.
In 2021, the current account deficit decreased by 356.6 million euros compared to 2020 and amounted to 10.6 billion euros.
The increase in the goods deficit is due to the larger increase in imports compared to exports. More specifically, exports increased by 35.2% at current prices (12.7% at constant prices) and imports increased by 36.4% at current prices (13.6% at constant prices). In particular, at current prices, exports and imports of non-fuel goods increased by 26.9% and 27.7% respectively (20.2% and 24.2% at constant prices).
The increase in the services surplus is almost exclusively due to the improvement in the travel services balance, which, however, was partially offset by the reduction in the transport surplus. Arrivals of non-resident travelers increased by 99.4% and related receipts by 146.7% compared to 2020, representing 46.9% and 58.6% of the respective levels of 2019. Net receipts from transfers showed reduction by 6.0%.
The primary income balance showed a surplus against a deficit in 2020, mainly due to the reduction of net payments for interest, dividends and profits, while the surplus of the secondary income balance more than doubled due to the increase in net government revenues.
Capital Balance
In December 2021, the surplus of the capital balance decreased compared to the corresponding month of 2020 and amounted to 431.5 million euros. In 2021, the capital surplus increased significantly compared to 2020 and amounted to 4.0 billion euros.
Total Current Balance of Transactions and Capital
In December 2021, the total current account and capital deficit (which corresponds to the needs of the economy for foreign financing) increased by 1.2 billion euros compared to December 2020 and amounted to 1.3 billion . euro. In 2021, the total current account and capital deficit narrowed compared to 2020, from € 8.2 billion to € 6.6 billion.
Financial Transaction Balance
In December 2021, in the category of direct investments, residents ‘receivables from abroad increased by 287.2 million euros, while residents’ liabilities to foreigners increased by 530.5 million euros.
In portfolio investments, the increase in residents’ receivables from abroad is due to the increase by 4.0 billion euros of their placements in bonds and bonds abroad. The reduction of their liabilities is due to the reduction of non-residents’ investments in bonds and interest-bearing bills of the Greek State by 866 million euros.
In the category of other investments, there was a decrease in residents ‘receivables from abroad, mainly due to the decrease in residents’ investments in deposits and repos abroad by 970.9 million euros, which was partially offset by the statistical adjustment (604.0 million associated with the issue of banknotes. The increase in their liabilities is due to the increase by 4.3 billion euros of loans to residents and the increase of non-residents in deposits and repos in Greece (including the TARGET account) by 998.0 million euros. [1 ]
In 2021, in the category of direct investments, residents ‘receivables from abroad increased by 992.9 million euros and residents’ liabilities to foreigners, corresponding to direct investments of non-residents in Greece, increased by 5.1 billion.
In portfolio investment, the increase in residents’ receivables from abroad is mainly due to the increase by 24.2 billion euros of residents’ investments in bonds and bonds abroad and by 2.0 billion euros of residents’ investments in shares abroad. The increase in their liabilities is due to the increase in non-resident placements in shares of Greek companies by 2.1 billion euros and in bonds and bonds of the Greek State by 1.4 billion euros.
In the category of other investments, the increase in residents’ receivables from abroad is due to the statistical adjustment (EUR 4.4 billion) linked to the issuance of banknotes, which was partially offset by the EUR 2.7 billion decrease in resident placements in deposits and repos abroad. The increase in their liabilities mainly reflects the increase by 18.1 billion euros of non-resident placements in deposits and repos in Greece (including the TARGET account) and the increase in lending to residents by 7.3 billion euros.
At the end of 2021, the country’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to 12.8 billion euros.
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