Tourism revenues soared to 20.6 billion euros in 2023, marking a significant 16.5 percent rise from the previous year, according to the Bank of Greece.
The stunning growth is attributed to an 11.6 percent rise in receipts from European travellers, totaling 11.169 billion euros and accounting for 54.2 percent of the total receipts.
What is more, an 18.3 percent increase was reported in receipts from non-EU countries, amounting to 8.6 billion euros.
The report said a total of 30.08 million foreigners visited Greece in 2023, up from 29.875 million in 2022.
Specifically,the report show that most visitors arrived by land, recording a 34.9 percent rise in traffic at border stations. Air travel also saw a significant uptick, with a 12.7 percent rise in airport arrivals and departures.
A total of 54.4 percent of the travellers originated from within the EU, as other foreign travellers accounted for 36.3 percent.
In 2023, travel from the EU rose by 15.6 percent compared to 2022. This increase was driven by an 11.3 percent rise in travel from Eurozone countries, which saw 12.9 million travellers, and a 24.7 percent increase from EU27 countries outside the Eurozone, with 6.7 million travellers, the report said.
Germany and Italy were among the countries showing notable increases in travel to Greece, with German travel up by 9.5 percent to 4.7 million travellers and Italian travel up by 30.4 percent to 1.8423 million travellers. French travel to Greece also increased by 4.2 percent, reaching 1.8 million travellers.
Lastly, travel from other countries increased by 20.8 percent, totaling 13 million travellers. The United Kingdom showed a modest 2.4% increase, with 4.5 million travellers, while travel from the USA surged by 29.2 percent to 1.4 million travellers, according to the Bank of Greece report