Based on provisional data by the Bank of Greece, the balance of travel services in November 2023 showed a surplus of €206.2 million, up from a surplus of €198.5 million in November 2022. More specifically, travel receipts in November 2023 rose by 18.9% to €401.1 million, from €337.3 million in November 2022, while travel payments also increased by 40.4% (November 2023: €194.8 million, November 2022: €138.8 million). The rise in travel receipts was due to a 27.5% increase in inbound traveller flows, as average expenditure per trip declined by 6.4%. Net receipts from travel services accounted for 50.0% of total net receipts from services and offset 7.2% of the goods deficit.
In January-November 2023, the balance of travel services showed a surplus of €17,899.5 million, up from a surplus of €15,684.7 million in the respective period of 2022. Travel receipts rose by €2,682.3 million, or 15.4%, to €20,115.4 million, while travel payments increased by €467.6 million, or 26.7%, to €2,215.9 million. The rise in travel receipts stemmed from a 17.3% increase in inbound traveller flows, as average expenditure per trip fell by 2.7%. Net travel receipts contributed 84.0% to total net receipts from services and offset 60.4% of the goods deficit.
Travel receipts
In November 2023, as previously mentioned, travel receipts rose by 18.9% year-on-year. In more detail, receipts from within the EU27 increased by 26.4% to €178.2 million, while receipts from outside the EU27 rose by 13.6% (November 2023: €195.4 million, November 2022: €172.0 million). The rise in receipts from within the EU27 is attributed to increases in receipts from euro-area residents by 32.5% (November 2023: €140.8 million, November 2022: €106.2 million) and in receipts from residents of non-euro area EU27 countries by 7.8% to €37.5 million. More specifically, among major euro area countries of origin, receipts from Germany rose by 74.8% to €44.8 million, whereas receipts from France dropped by 14.1% to €10.1 million. Turning to non-EU27 countries, receipts from the United Kingdom fell by 34.4% to €19.3 million. Receipts from the United States rose by 62.4% to €65.1 million, whereas receipts from Russia decreased substantially by 94.8%.
In January-November 2023, travel receipts totalled €20,115.4 million, up by 15.4% relative to the corresponding period of 2022. This development was due to increases in receipts from residents of the EU27 by 11.0% to €10,997.2 million and in receipts from residents outside the EU27 by 18.4% to €8,419.4 million. In greater detail, receipts from euro-area residents rose by 11.9% to €8,927.5 million, as did receipts from residents of non-euro area EU27 countries, by 7.1% to €2,069.7 million. In particular, receipts from Germany grew by 8.7% to €3,510.9 million and receipts from France increased by 11.6% to €1,413.0 million. Turning to non-EU27 countries, receipts from the United Kingdom rose by 6.0% to €3,286.7 million. Receipts from the United States also increased by 15.1% to €1,344.2 million, while receipts from Russia dropped by 22.8% to €31.4 million.
Inbound traveller flows
The number of inbound travellers in November 2023 rose by 27.5% year-on-year to 1,036.1 thousand. Specifically, traveller flows through airports increased by 33.3% compared with the respective month a year earlier, while traveller flows through road border-crossing points rose by 20.0%. This overall increase was due to higher traveller flows from both within the EU27 (up by 30.6%) and outside the EU27 (up by 24.2%). In greater detail, the number of travellers from within the euro area grew by 53.4% to 380.4 thousand. Travellers from non-euro area EU27 countries decreased by 1.2% to 176.4 thousand. Specifically, the number of travellers from Germany increased by 105.5% to 137.6 thousand, while the number of travellers from France dropped by 3.6% to 27.8 thousand. Turning to non-EU27 countries, the number of travellers from the United Kingdom increased by 14.7% to 52.2 thousand. The number of travellers from the United States rose by 49.6% to 101.0 thousand, whereas the number of travellers from Russia fell by 70.8%.
In January-November 2023, the number of inbound travellers rose by 17.3% to 31,969.7 thousand (January-November 2022: 27,255.4 thousand). Specifically, traveller flows through airports increased by 12.5%, while traveller flows through road border-crossing points grew by 34.5%. In the period under review, the number of travellers from within the EU27 rose by 15.0% year-on-year to 19,285.5 thousand, while travellers from outside the EU27 increased by 20.9% to 12,684.2 thousand. The number of travellers from within the euro area rose by 11.0% as also did that from non-euro area EU27 countries, by 23.7%. Specifically, the number of travellers from Germany rose by 8.7% to 4,680.6 thousand and the number of travellers from France increased by 4.0% to 1,809.8 thousand. Turning to non-EU27 countries, travellers from the United Kingdom rose by 2.9% to 4,543.7 thousand as well as those from the United States, by 31.3% to 1,369.9 thousand. Finally, the number of travellers from Russia dropped by 5.9% to 33.2 thousand.
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