Greece has exceeded 2019 levels in terms of tourism revenue, reaching over EUR 20 billion during the first 11 months of 2023, despite the recently implemented climate tax on accommodations.

Following a positive travel season in Greece, travel receipts reached EUR 20.115 billion between January and November in 2023, says Bank of Greece. This marks a 15.4 pc increase compared to 2022 and a 10 pc increase from 2019.

According to press reports, travel receipts amounted to nearly EUR 17.7 billion, whereas in 2019 reached about EUR 18.2 billion in 2022.

“This development was due to increased receipts from residents of the EU27 by 11 pc to EUR 10,997.2 million and in receipts from residents outside the EU27 by 18.4 pc to EUR 8,419.4 million,” says Bank of Greece.

It adds that among EU27 countries, Germany topped the list, with receipts reaching EUR 3.51 billion, followed by France with EUR 1.41 billion. Receipts from both countries increased compared to last year by 8.7 pc and 11.6 pc respectively.

It says that among non-EU27 countries, receipts from the United Kingdom reached EUR 3.32 billion which marked a 6 pc increase. Revenues from the United States amounted to EUR 1.34 billion, a 15.1 pc increase. However, Greek tourism experienced a 22.8 pc decrease in receipts from Russia, reaching EUR 31.4 million.

The Bank of Greece unveiled that the volume of travellers passing through airports increased by 12.5 pc, whereas the traveller traffic at road border-crossing points experienced a growth of 34.5 pc. In addition to revenues, during the 11 months of 2023, Greece saw a 17.3 pc increase in inbound travellers compared to 2022.

“In the period under review, the number of travellers from within the EU27 rose by 15 pc year-on-year to 19.29 million, while travellers from outside the EU27 increased by 20.9 pc to 12.68 million,” says Bank of Greece.

According to reports, the majority of tourists that visited Greece during the first 11 months of 2023 were from Germany, which saw a 8.7 pc rise, France, growing at 4 pc, the UK at 2.9 pc and the US 31.3 pc. Meanwhile, the number of tourists from Russia visiting Greece decreased by 5.9 pc.

Greek authorities have reported higher figures throughout 2023, implying the country is returning and even exceeding the pre-pandemic levels.

In addition to this new record in revenue, Greece had already surpassed 2019 levels last month, adds Bank of Greece. Athens Airport welcomed over 28 million travellers last year, marking a nearly 10 pc increase compared to 2019 levels.