An increase of 8.6% in international air arrivals was recorded in Greece during January-December 2017 compared to the corresponding period of 2016.
More specifically, 18.3 million aviation arrivals were recorded, compared to 16.9 million in 2016.
As the Greek Tourism Confederation’s (SETE) research department INSETE points out in its latest statistical bulletin all airports showed an increase, with the exception of Karpathos airport (which did not change as air arrivals moved to 2016 levels).
International traffic at regional airports in December marked a drop of 1.9% while Athens International Airport recorded a 9% growth. Performance from the start of the year at regional airports saw an increase of 9.5 percent.
Athens’ airport was up by 6 percent since the start of the year.
INSETE on Friday reported a “mixed” picture for December by a positive beginning of the year in terms of tourism flows, with Greece’s main airports reporting an increase in international arrivals for December 2017 by 5.3 percent.
SETE announced travel remittances were up by 10.7 percent over the first 11-months of 2017, compared with the same period in 2016.
The report recorded that consumer confidence is growing stronger in most of Greece’s major source markets such as Austria, France, Belgium, Germany, the US and Italy, with the exception of the UK and Turkey, where the index has fallen back.
In a related tourism industry development, SETE referred to the purchase of 10 percent of Fraport Greece’s shares by the Marguerite II fund – which is funded by the EIB and European countries’ central banks.
In another development, SETE underlined a decision by the UK’s regulator of advertising, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), to ban an advertisement by Booking, which promoted a free cancellation option on its offers while at the same time feature a lower price on reservations without the right of cancellation with a full refund.
Consequently, Greek tourism’s success story continues and in 2018 as the messages for the new tourist season are very positive.
Speaking to national broadcaster ERT on Saturday, Greek Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura pointed out that the reservations are moving 15 to 30 percent upwards in comparison with 2017.
She noted that the ministry’s new strategy focuses on the effort for tourism throughout the year and referred to actions for the attraction of new flights to Greece.
Overall tourist arrivals in 2017 reached 30 million while revenues were 14.7 billion euros.
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Leonid Mamchenkov License: CC-BY-SA
