Bank of Greece: 12.2% jump in travel receipts Jan-June 2024

Athens, Greece.- Travel receipts rose by 12.2% in January-June 2024 to 6,921.3 million euros, up by 12.2% year‑on‑year, the Bank of Greece (BoG) said in a report on Wednesday.

Inbound traveller flows by 15.5%  to 11,625.6 thousand euros, against the same six months in 2023 (10,061.8 thousand).

Based on provisional data, the balance of travel services in June 2024 showed a surplus of 2,861.7 million euros, up from a surplus of 2,680.7 million in June 2023. More specifically, travel receipts in June 2024 rose by 7.7% to 3,115.0 million euros, from 2,891.3 million euros in June 2023, while travel payments also increased by 20.2% (June 2024: 253.3 million euros, June 2023: 210.6 million euros).

The rise in travel receipts is due to an 8.8% increase in inbound traveller flows, as average expenditure per trip declined by 1.4%. Net travel receipts accounted for 89.7% of total net services’ receipts and more than offset 115.6% of the goods deficit.

The highest receipts in the first six months came from German tourists, which grew by 7.4% to 1,223.3 million euros, as did receipts from France, by 2.5% to 445.7 million euros. Receipts from the United States increased by 1.0% to 540.1 million euros.