Business turnover soars 35%
Enterprises see major growth in takings, partly thanks to 2022’s record tourism revenues
Turnover of all businesses in the Greek economy approached half a trillion euros in 2022, far exceeding the turnover of both 2021 and 2019, before the pandemic.
That was primarily thanks to the full restart of the economy in 2022, but also to a significant extent to inflation, which inevitably led to an increase in turnover. A decisive role in recording higher turnover is also estimated to have been played by the rapid increase in electronic transactions, with card payments amounting to €40 billion in 2021, while in 2022 it is estimated that the figure exceeded €60 billion.
The largest increase was in the accommodation and food service sector, thanks to the large increase in tourism last year. At the same time, however, the largest sector in terms of turnover, that of commerce, saw a comparatively small increase, which is linked to slowing demand due to inflationary pressures.
According to data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) on Tuesday, 2022 business turnover amounted to €461.24 billion, recording an increase of 35.5% compared to 2021, when it came to €340.28 billion. Notably, after the significant decline in business turnover in 2020 due to the pandemic, 2021 had already posted a total turnover greater than that of 2019. In particular, business turnover in 2019 was €324.81 billion, in 2020 it fell to €284.32 billion, then recovered in 2021 to €340.28 billion.
Turnover in the hospitality sector reached €16.45 billion, surpassing the levels of 2019, which had reached €13.99 billion. However, this sector lost around €10 billion in the two years 2020-21. The accommodation and food service sector recorded the largest increase in turnover in 2022 compared to 2021, namely 51.8%.
Manufacturing was also significantly strengthened in 2022. The sector has been on a growth path since the fall of 2020, having on several occasions turned both the crisis of the pandemic and supply problems as well as the new problems caused by the war in Ukraine into an opportunity. Manufacturing turnover exceeded €100 billion in 2022 (€100.44 billion), up 39.1% compared to 2021.
