Greek Tourism Figures Rise in July, but Revenues Not as Expected

Greek tourism figures in July showed signs of hope after a first half that showed an increase in arrivals but less than expected revenues.
Last-minute bookings have increased, while the increase in arrivals has reached double-digit percentages, said Andreas Andreadis, president of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE), on Thursday.
The Heraklion airport on Crete received 12 percent more passengers than in July 2015. The majority of the arrivals were from Germany, United Kingdom, France and Russia. On Sunday, July 17, Heraklion received a day record of 52,000 tourists.
On Corfu, the increase of foreign visitors arriving at the airport was 13.5 percent.
Also, Southern Aegean regional governor Giorgos Hatzimarkos said there was a 10.6 percent rise in the number of arrivals on Rhodes airport last month.
Also, preliminary figures for tourist arrivals by land also show an increase in the number of people visiting Greece in July. They appear to have risen by 1 percent.
SETE attributes the increased arrivals to the political upheavals in Turkey following the coup attempt and the increased terrorist attacks in Istanbul and Ankara. Also, the tensions between Turkey and Russia make Russian holidaymakers prefer Greece.