Greece’s current account deficit halved in September compared to the same period in 2022 thanks to higher tourism receipts and lower imports, the Central Bank of Greece (BoG) said, Reuters and Agerpres reported.

In September, the current account deficit was 404 million euros, compared with a deficit of 850 million euros for the same period in 2022. Greece’s tourism receipts rose 14.6% in September to €3.3 billion, with foreign tourist arrivals strong. annual growth of 12.7%.

In addition, a larger decline in imports than exports helped reduce the current account deficit, the Central Bank of Greece said. Against the background of expensive energy imports, in 2022 Greece’s trade deficit increased by 63% to 20 billion euros, or 9.7% of GDP.

In the first nine months of 2023, higher tourism receipts and reduced imports helped narrow the deficit to 7.3 billion euros, from a deficit of 11.9 billion euros in the same period in 2022.

Record revenues from tourism for Greece, Turkey and other Mediterranean countries

The Central Bank of Greece estimates this year tourism revenues at 21 billion euros, which is 15.6% more compared to 2019 (when revenues were 18.17 billion euros) and 19.1% compared to 2022 (when revenues were 17 .63 billion euros).

In fact, Greece has recorded record tourism revenues this year as the lifting of recent restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus has led to an influx of foreign visitors to many Mediterranean countries.

Turkey also reported record tourism receipts this year, taking in US$20.2 billion from July to September, up 13.1% from last year.

According to data published on October 31 by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), Turkey’s tourism revenue increased by 20.1% to 42 billion dollars in the first nine months of this year.

In Italy, on the other hand, the huge number of foreign visitors has led to price hikes, which have been widely criticized by the peninsula’s press, attracting international media attention as well.