The surplus of the Greek tourism balance at 15.436 billion euros

Tourist receipts in the first ten months of 2022 are close to the level of 2019 – although falling short – according to the official data of the Bank of Greece.

The balance of travel services posted a surplus of €1,308.2 million in October 2022 and of €15,436.4 million in January-October 2022.

In 2019, the last year before the pandemic, the balance of travel services had posted a surplus of €1,202.9 million in October and of €15,297.5 million in January‑October 2019.

Travel receipts rose year-on-year by 16.7% in October 2022 and by 70.4% in January‑October 2022.

Compared with the respective periods of 2019, travel receipts increased by 3.3% in October 2022 and fell by 2.6% in January-October 2022.

Inbound traveller flows rose by 28.6% in October 2022 and by 92.1% in January‑October 2022 relative to the same periods of 2021.

Compared with the respective periods of 2019, inbound traveller flows declined by 0.6% in October 2022 and by 11.0% in January-October 2022.

Balance of travel services

Based on provisional data, the balance of travel services in October 2022 showed a surplus of €1,308.2 million, up from a surplus of €1,132.8 million in October 2021. More specifically, travel receipts in October 2022 rose by 16.7% to €1,510.4 million, from €1,294.3 million in October 2021, while travel payments also increased by 25.2% (October 2022: €202.2 million, October 2021: €161.5 million). The rise in travel receipts was due to a 28.6% increase in inbound traveler flows, as average expenditure per trip declined by 9.8%. Net receipts from travel services offset 32.1% of the goods deficit and contributed 84.3% to total net receipts from services.

In January-October 2022, the balance of travel services showed a surplus of €15,436.4 million, up from a surplus of €9,161.9 million in the same period of 2021. Travel receipts rose by €7,069.2 million, or 70.4%, to €17,114.8 million , while travel payments also increased by €794.7 million, or 89.9%, to €1,678.4 million. The rise in travel receipts stemmed from a 92.1% increase in inbound traveler flows, as average expenditure per trip declined by 11.8%. Net travel receipts offset 47.9% of the goods deficit and contributed 82.5% to total net receipts from services.

Travel receipts

In October 2022, as previously mentioned, travel receipts rose by 16.7% year-on-year. In more detail, receipts from residents of EU27 countries rose by 6.6% to €827.2 million, while receipts from outside the EU27 increased by 31.1% (October 2022: €627.3 million, October 2021: €478.4 million). The rise in receipts from within the EU27 is attributed to increases in receipts from euro area residents by 5.9% (October 2022: €736.8 million, October 2021: €696.0 million) and in receipts from residents of non-euro area EU27 countries by 12.8 % to €90.4 million.

More specifically, among major euro area countries of origin, receipts from Germany declined by 7.9% to €369.8 million, whereas receipts from France increased by 6.8% to €84.7 million. Turning to non-EU27 countries, receipts from the United Kingdom rose by 31.2% to €256.7 million, as did receipts from the United States, by 44.6% to €133.7 million. Receipts from Russia dropped by 89.0% to €3.3 million.

In January-October 2022, travel receipts totaled €17,114.8 million, up by 70.4% relative to the same period of 2021. This development was due to increases in receipts from residents of the EU27 by 49.0% to €9,827.0 million and in receipts from residents outside the EU27 by 110.5% to €6,927.8 million. In greater detail, receipts from euro area residents rose by 46.0% to €7,830.6 million, while receipts from residents of non-euro area EU27 countries increased by 61.9% to €1,996.5 million.

In particular, receipts from Germany increased by 37.9% to €3,117.8 million, as did receipts from France, by 29.1% to €1,256.6 million. Turning to non-EU27 countries, receipts from the United Kingdom rose by 122.7% to €3,128.3 million and receipts from the United States also increased by 86.4% to €1,057.3 million. Receipts from Russia fell by 65.0% to €34.5 million.

Inbound traveler flows

The number of inbound travelers in October 2022 rose by 28.6% year-on-year to 2,756.4 thousand. Specifically, traveler flows through airports increased by 20.0% compared with October 2021, while traveler flows through road border-crossing points rose by 139.4%. This overall increase was due to higher traveler flows from both within the EU27 (up by 11.0%) and outside the EU27 (up by 64.3%). In greater detail, travelers from within the euro area rose by 2.5% to 1,255.4 thousand, while travelers from non-euro area EU27 countries also increased by 60.2% to 340.7 thousand.

Specifically, the number of travelers from Germany declined by 7.2% to 621.1 thousand, whereas the number of travelers from France rose by 22.4% to 165.4 thousand. Turning to non-EU27 countries, the number of travelers from the United Kingdom increased by 67.4% to 518.3 thousand, while travelers from the United States also increased by 102.6% to 139.8 thousand. The number of travelers from Russia fell by 87.9% to 3.3 thousand.

In January-October 2022, the number of inbound travelers rose by 92.1% to 26,443.1 thousand (January-October 2021: 13,763.2 thousand). Specifically, traveler flows through airports increased by 84.7%, while traveler flows through road border-crossing points rose by 135.8%. In the period under review, the number of travelers from within the EU27 rose by 68.9% year-on-year to 16,337.8 thousand and travelers from outside the EU27 increased by 147.0% to 10,105.3 thousand. The number of travelers from within the euro area rose by 59.3%, as did travelers from non-euro area EU27 countries, by 94.2%.

Specifically, travelers from Germany increased by 47.1% to 4,240.8 thousand and those from France by 49.9% to 1,711.0 thousand. Turning to non-EU27 countries, the number of travelers from the United Kingdom rose by 194.4% to 4,370.8 thousand, as well as those from the United States by 167.5% to 975.7 thousand. The number of travelers from Russia dropped by 63.3% to 34.6 thousand.

Comparison with 2019, the last year before the pandemic

Compared with October 2019, travel receipts rose by 3.3%, average expenditure per trip increased by 5.9%, while inbound traveler flows dropped by 0.6% in October 2022.

Compared with January-October 2019, travel receipts fell by 2.6% as did inbound traveler flows by 11.0% in January-October 2022. By contrast, average expenditure per trip increased by 10.1%.