Final results released by the Bank of Greece (BoG) on Tuesday show that 2023 was, indeed, a banner year for the country’s all-important tourism industry, with 20.6 billion euros in related revenues topping the previous year’s figure by 16.5%.
The higher revenue corresponds with an increase in arrivals, which in 2023 reached slightly more than 30 million, compared to 29.87 million the previous year.
Last year also witnessed a significant rebound in the number of arrivals traveling through land border crossings, up by 34.9%, with the biggest increase by citizens of EU27 member-states.
Overall, arrivals from the EU27 were up by 15.7% compared with 2022.
German holiday-makers again comprised the biggest bloc of visitors to Greece, at 4.7 million, a figure that was up by 9.5% compared to 2022. Moreover, 1.84 million visitors from Italy accounted for a sizable 30.4% increase from that neighboring country.
Just as noteworthy is the arrival of 1.4 million (a 29.2% increase) visitors from the United States, a market across the Atlantic. Conversely, visitors from Russia, once a burgeoning market for the Greek tourism sector, reached a paltry 35,700 – 1% decrease from 2022.
