The latest data from the Bank of Greece shed light on the causes of the sudden drop in tourism revenues in July, confirming that the crisis of price sensitivity is forcing European and American travellers to cut back on their spending. Thus, the data show that while inbound travel in July increased by 4.1% compared to the same month last year, average spending per trip was down by 9.1%. As a result, July travel receipts fell by 4.2% to €4.031 billion, compared to €4.208 billion in the corresponding month in 2023. In contrast, a 7.5% increase was seen in travel payments, which in July this year stood at €276.1 million.

TRAVEL BALANCE
According to provisional data, the travel balance in July 2024 showed a surplus of EUR 3,755.4 million, compared to a surplus of EUR 3,951.9 million in the corresponding month of 2023. In particular, a decrease of 4.2% was recorded in July 2024 in travel receipts, which stood at EUR 4,031.4 million, compared to EUR 4,208.8 million in the corresponding month of 2023, while an increase of 7.5% was observed in travel payments (July 2024: EUR 276.1 million). The decrease in travel receipts was due to a 9.1% decrease in average expenditure per trip, as inbound travel increased by 4.1%. Net receipts from travel services more than offset the deficit in the goods account by 132.0% and contributed 90.4% to total net receipts from services.

In January-July 2024, the travel balance recorded a surplus of EUR 9,308.5 million, compared to a surplus of EUR 9,005.5 million in the corresponding period of 2023. Travel receipts rose by EUR 577.5 million, or 5.6%, to EUR 10,952.7 million, while an increase of EUR 274.5 million, or 20.0%, was also observed in travel payments, which stood at EUR 1,644.3 million. The increase in travel receipts was due to an 11.2% rise in inbound travel, as the average expenditure per trip decreased by 5.7%. Net receipts from travel services offset the deficit in the goods account by 45.8% and contributed 81.7% to total net receipts from services.

TRAVEL RECEIPTS

In July 2024, as noted above, travel receipts decreased by 4.2% compared to the same month in 2023. More specifically, receipts from residents of EU-27 countries recorded a decrease of 2.9%, amounting to EUR 2,213.4 million, compared to EUR 2,278.7 million in the corresponding month of 2023, as well as receipts from residents of other countries by 8.6% (July 2024: EUR 1,651.8 million, July 2023: EUR 1,806.9 million). The decrease in receipts from EU-27 residents was the result of an 8.3% decrease in receipts from euro area residents (July 2024: €1,621.0 million, July 2023: €1,766.9 million), as receipts from EU-27 non-euro area residents increased by 15.8% to €592.4 million, compared to €511.8 million in the same month of 2023.

In particular, as regards the main countries of origin of travellers from the euro area, receipts from Germany decreased by 9.9% to €539.9 million, while receipts from France decreased by 34.2% to €229.6 million. Receipts from Italy also fell by 1.5% to €276.3 million. Of the other countries, receipts from the United Kingdom increased by 1.2% to €720.1 million, while receipts from the United States fell by 11.7% to €219.4 million. Finally, receipts from Russia fell by 52.7% to EUR 3.2 million.

In the period January-July 2024, travel receipts recorded an increase of 5.6% compared to the same period in 2023, reaching 10,952.7 million euros. This development is due to the 7.6% increase in receipts from residents of the EU-27 countries, which amounted to €6,029.2 million, as well as a 1.5% increase in receipts from residents of other countries to €4,470.3 million. More specifically, receipts from residents of euro area countries amounted to €4,725.4 million, up by 4.0%, as did receipts from residents of EU-27 countries outside the euro area, which rose by 23.2% to €1,303.8 million.

In particular, receipts from Germany rose by 1.4% to €1,763.2 million, while those from France fell by 13.8% to €675.3 million. Receipts from Italy increased by 20.7% to €605.3 million. Among the other countries, receipts from the United Kingdom rose by 11.3% to €1,728.7 million, while receipts from the United States fell by 3.0% to €759.6 million. Finally, receipts from Russia fell by 65.2% to EUR 8.3 million.

INBOUND TRAVEL

Inbound travel traffic in July 2024 stood at 6,357.0 thousand travellers, up 4.1% compared to the same month in 2023. In particular, travel through airports increased by 4.7% compared to July 2023 and that through road border stations by 3.1%. The increase in inbound travel was driven by a 2.2% increase in travel from both EU-27 countries and 7.3% from other countries. More specifically, travel from the euro area countries amounted to 2,425.3 thousand travellers, up by 5.7%, while travel from the EU-27 countries outside the euro area decreased by 2.8% to 1,544.4 thousand travellers. 

In particular, travel from Germany increased by 12.3% to 838.3 thousand travellers, as did travel from France, which increased by 4.3% to 388.5 thousand travellers. Travel from Italy decreased by 10.1% to 402.1 thousand travellers. As regards other countries, travel from the United Kingdom increased by 11.5% to 894.5 thousand travellers and from the United States by 0.5% to 210.2 thousand travellers. Finally, travel from Russia decreased by 44.9% to 3.5 thousand travellers.

In the period January-July 2024, inbound travel recorded an increase of 11.2% to 17,982.6 thousand travellers, compared to 16,170.4 thousand travellers in the corresponding period of 2023. In particular, travel through airports increased by 12.0% and that through road border stations by 9.9%. In the period under review, travel from EU-27 countries amounted to 10,816.5 thousand travellers, an increase of 11.3% compared to the same period in 2023, while travel from other countries increased by 11.1% to 7,166.2 thousand travellers. Travel from euro area countries increased by 13.6%, as did travel from EU-27 countries outside the euro area, up by 6.8%. 

In particular, travel from Germany increased by 13.2% to 2,604.6 thousand travellers, as did travel from France, which rose by 5.2% to 1,064.5 thousand travellers. Travel from Italy also rose by 13.8%, reaching 990.7 thousand travellers. With regard to other countries, travel from the United Kingdom increased by 8.1% to 2,266.1 thousand travellers, as did travel from the United States, which increased by 6.9% to 788.6 thousand travellers. Finally, travel from Russia decreased by 54.2% to 9.0 thousand travellers.