Media: Wildfires and heat wave didn’t discourage tourists still coming to Greece

A record July heat wave that combined with wildfires hasn’t cut into Greece’s peak summer tourism season – another one is settling in – and the country continues to be on a path toward a record year.

Current data from the European Aviation Safety Agency Eurocontrol showed that arrivals for the second week of August were 9 percent higher than the previous record year of 2019 before the COVID pandemic hit.

The National Bank of Greece, which also tracks the numbers for a sector that’s the country’s biggest revenue engine, said the spring period was 10 percent over 2019’s numbers.

During that time revenues also jumped 19 percent from four years earlier and brought in 2.8 billion euros ($3.04 billion) with the government counting on the cash to accelerate an economic recovery.

Figures from Greece’s regional airport operator Fraport which handles 14 facilities showed increases, including at the second largest city Thessaloniki as well as islands such as Crete, Zakynthos, Skiathos, and Santorini.

According to Fraport, there were 18 million arrivals, some 10.5 percent over the first seven months of 2019 as the trajectory continues, the government trying to lure people to come year-round and not just during the summer.

There were worries that the July heat and the wildfires that forced 19,000 tourists on Rhodes to flee for their lives would deter visitors but that hasn’t been borne out and the government is full speed ahead in bringing them.

But the winds of change may be coming.

The National Bank said in future years the heat could be so intense, partially because of climate change, that tourists will pick cooler climes for their summer vacations, Greece is seen losing a market share.

The bank predicts an overall 5 percent increase in arrivals for 2023 and revenues that could surpass 21 billion euros ($22.82 billion) but who knows for how long and whether it will continue because the heat is on.