According to the Bank of Greece’s Balance of Payments report for November 2015, the current account showed a deficit of €1.2 billion, down by €278.4 million year-on-year. This improvement is attributable to the improved balance of goods, as well as to the improved primary and secondary income accounts, which offset the narrowing of the surplus of the services balance.
The deficit of the balance of goods shrank by €108 million year-on-year, mainly as a result of the lower net oil import bill. Transactions concerning the purchases and sales of ships were also significantly reduced, since they could not be recorded, to the extent that they were conducted outside the domestic banking system, due to capital controls. However, net payments for purchases of ships increased year-on-year. Overall, a decrease was observed in both exports and imports of goods, although imports declined more than exports.
The surplus of the services balance fell by €192.6 million, as a result of lower net transport (mainly sea transport) receipts.
Travel receipts registered a remarkable rise (16%) year-on-year (November 2014: 1.5%), which resulted in an improved travel balance, despite the fact that the number of non-residents’ arrivals decreased by 4%. Finally, the other services balance improved considerably.
In the January-November 2015 period, total non-residents’ arrivals increased by 7.5% year-on-year, while the corresponding receipts grew by 5.9%.
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