The number of arrivals to Greece in 2022 increased by 89.3% to almost 28 million visitors, compared to almost 15 million in 2021. These visitors generated 17.63 billion euros in travel receipts, or an increase of 67.9% over the previous year, according to the Bank of Greece. Greece’s tourism receipts remained down 3.0% from 2019. The Minister of Tourism has indicated that tourism should grow again by 20%
Spending per trip is higher than in 2019
Spending per trip decreased by 11.9% in 2022 compared to 2021, but exceeded 2019 levels by 9.7%.
Markets that saw an increase in travel receipts are germany up 40.6% to more than 3 billion euros, the France from 27.9% to just over one billion euros, the United Kingdom up 113.1% to more than 3 billion euros and the UNITED STATES from 100.6% to just over one billion euros.
Greece is expected to experience an increase in tourism
Greek Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias said Greece will see a 20% increase in tourism this year. These remarks were made during a speech on the island of Rhodes, which the minister described as a “flagship of tourism”.
The event was jointly organized by the South Aegean Region and the TUI Group, to launch a project to make Rhodes a “sustainable tourist destination”.
Tourism is one of the pillars of the country’s economy.
Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias was speaking at The Rhodes Co-Lab Sustainable Destination – Strategy & Implementation Plan event when he made comments predicting a significant increase in tourism to Greece.
He spoke at length about how tourism is a central pillar of the Greek economy and highlighted expectations that tourism will grow by 20% this year.
A longer summer season
The tourism sector also performed well in Greece last year, thanks in part to a long summer season and the lifting of COVID-related lockdown restrictions in most parts of the world.
Last October was one of the best months for tourism in recent history, and there were more tourists in the country than any previous October.
Most visitors to Greece during the latter part of last year’s tourist season came from the UK, Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Poland, Cyprus and Israel.
Sustainable tourism in Rhodes
The flagship of tourism is Rhodes and we need to make it a more sustainable destination, Kikilias said at the event organized by the South Aegean Region and the TUI Group.
The Rhodes Co-Lab project “is a flagship program that aims to propel the island into a new era,” with a focus on sustainability, the project co-founders said.
The Greek economy undoubtedly benefits enormously from tourism, but the potential environmental impacts of over-tourism have received increasing attention in Greece in recent years as interest in the environment and conservation grows.
Over-tourism could also pose a threat to Greece’s historical and cultural monuments.
At a UNESCO conference in November last year, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis argued that ‘excessive tourism’ put too much emphasis on monuments, saying it was important to highlight alternative options for visitors.
