Greece welcome 25.96 million international tourists until September which is 10.3% more than in the same period of 2017. The statistics show a new record in overnight stays for the fourth time in a row. Greece’s tourism reveals that the country is becoming especially popular among foreign tourists.
Most of the visitors came from the European Union – 18.63 million travelers arrived during the first nine months of 2018, 16.1% more than last year. The number of German tourists increased by 25.1%, while that of the British reduced by 0.5%
The number of non- EU visitors decreased by 2.2%, totaling 7.33 million people for first nine months of 2018. The number of travelers from the United States increased by 19%, while those from Russia fell by 15.5%.
The nine-month revenues of Greece’s tourism totaled 14.2 billion Euros, 9.1% more than the 13 billion Euros for the same period of the last year, according to the Bank of Greece. The spending of EU travelers increased by 12.2% to almost 10 billion Euros, and citizens outside the EU spent 2.7% more, about 4 billion Euros.
Revenues from cruise ships totaled 354 million Euros, which was about the same, compared to the same period of 2017.
The cost per tourist and travel reached 533.6 euros, a figure that represented a fall of 0.9% over the same period last year.
For the coming tourism years, Greece remains on growth course. Some resorts have already extended their season - until the end of October and for hikers until November.