According to data from Greece’s Civil Aviation Authority, arrivals at Greek airports from abroad increased by 16.9 % during the first two months of the year to 602,222, from 515,379 in the same period in 2013, with arrivals at Greek airports up by 19.3 % in February alone.
Meanwhile, Greece appears to be a very popular destination among the citizens of central Europe. German tour operators and travel agencies have reported an increase in bookings of 52 % for the forthcoming summer.
The Greek government expects that tourism, still the country’s most profitable industry, will help Greece’s economic recovery. Many international reports as well as the Greek state’s own data indicate tourism revenues will rise significantly – by 13% – in 2014, to generate 13 billion euros.
The head of SETE (Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises) told Reuters Greece is one of the top tourist destinations for major European populations such as Britons and Germans, noting pre-bookings from Britain were up 10%.
Andreas Andreadis, vice president of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises, has reported that the “initial estimate for 2014 is that we will have more than 18 million arrivals, an all-time record, and record revenues of 13 billion euros.”
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