Tourist arrivals increased but average expenditure per trip decreased, the President of the Panhellenic Federation of Hoteliers, Yiannis Hatzis, said in an interview with Naftemporiki TV, following the data of the Bank of Greece.
More specifically, a total of 17,982,600 foreign tourists visited Greece in the first seven months of the year, boosting travel receipts to 10.953 billion euros, according to data released by the Bank of Greece (BoG). However, the average expenditure per trip decreased by 5.7%.
“The general European instability and what is happening to the European economies is also passed on to the consumers. About 85% of the tourism GDP is exports, which means that we rely heavily on those markets,” he stated.
In addition, Hatzis said that “from the beginning it looked like a very good season. That is, since March. However, the consumers’ fatigue along with all the burdens on the Greek tourist product and the new taxes have unfortunately led consumers to be more careful about the expenses they make in Greece.”
He also referred to the average length of stay in Greece which has fallen, while there is a rapid increase in overnight stays in short-term rental accommodation.
