Greece expects a second straight year with a record number of visitors, but data shows the country’s tourists are spending far less than the country’s rivals.
Tourism is the country’g biggest revenue producer for its 249.1 billion euro ($342.7 billion) Gross Domestic Product, but the levels would be much higher if the country had more luxury hotels, major conference centers in main cities, cruise home ports, and marinas, the lack of which is keeping away rich tourists.
Last year a bevy of Hollywood celebrities showed up, mostly on the islands, driving a recovery from a disastrous 2012 summer during which people stayed away in droves because of constant images of strikes, protests and riots against austerity measures.
In 2013 where were record numbers in total foreign tourism arrivals (including cruise passengers), totaling 20.1 million, and tourism revenues, which came to 12.2 billion euros. But the average spending was just 604.2 euros, posting an annual decline of 1.9 percent, according to Bank of Greece data.
A contributing factor was the low financial performance of cruise tourism as passengers’ average spending – incorporated in its entirety in the 2013 data – came to just 203.1 euros.
Those who spent the most during their visits to Greece were the Canadians (1,388 euros per trip), followed by Australians (1,369 euros), Americans (1,218 euros), Russians (989 euros), Swiss (961 euros) and Austrians (898 euros).
The bank data, based on tourism spending in the off-season months of January and February, shows there is likely to be an increase in per capita spending by visitors of 6.3 percent, or an average of 397 euros, while those to Turkey spent 535 euros, drawing money and people away from Greece.
By comparison, Greece’s competitors for tourism are drawing the more affluent, particularly Spain, which – despite overcrowded coastlines – average 976 euros per tourist and showed a hike of 3.7 percent last year, and hit almost 1,000 euros in the first three months of the season, pointing to a summer bonanza.
Cyprus also fared better than Greece as its visitors spent an average of 860 euros each in 2013, saving the country from a worse disaster than expected as the government had to seek international bailouts to keep the banks and economy from collapsing and imposed capital controls that are going to be lifted this year.
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