An explosive growth of 360.8% was recorded in inbound tourism in the first half of the year, during which the country welcomed 7,983,000 tourists, according to data from the Bank of Greece.

In particular, passenger traffic from European Union countries amounted to 4,792,000 travelers, which is 305.2% more than in the corresponding period of 2021, while passenger traffic from non-EU countries registered a sharp increase of 480.3% and amounted to 3,190,800 travelers.

The top Greek tourism customers were again Germans (1,422,000, +316%), followed by the British (1,218,000, +1,251.9%) and the French (530,000 travelers, +315.4%). Tourist flow from the United States increased by 745.9% to 324,000 travelers, and from Russia – by 318.4% to 16,000 travelers.

Tourist flow from the US increased by 745.9% to 324,000 travelers.

The expansion of tourist flows also led to an increase in travel revenue, which grew by 329.3% in the first half of the year compared to the corresponding period in 2021 and reached 5.126 billion euros. This development is due to an increase in fees from residents of EU countries. by 263.7%, which amounted to 2.981 billion euros, as well as fees from residents of countries outside the EU. by 462.4%, which amounted to 2.03 billion euros.

In particular, receipts from Germany increased by 264.6% and amounted to 1.086 billion euros, while receipts from France increased by 247.9% and amounted to 378.8 million euros. Receipts from non-EU countries increased by 873.6% to 792.7 million euros. Receipts from the US rose by 450.1% to €336.7 million, while receipts from Russia increased by 115.7% to €13.9 million.

Average travel spending was above 2019 levels. Compared to January-June 2019, in the first half of 2022, travel receipts decreased by 5.3%, inbound passenger traffic by 15.1%, and average travel expenses increased by 12.6%. Compared to June 2019, in June 2022, travel revenue increased by 2.3%, average travel expenses increased by 15.9%, and inbound tourist traffic decreased by 11.0%.