Athens in Americans’ top 10
From the temples of Japan and the thermal baths of Hungary, to the islands of the Cyclades in Greece, American tourists are everywhere this summer, and Athens is among their top 10 destinations.
With the dollar rising, the value of the money in Americans’ pockets seems to take them even further.
The growth rates of the American economy, which are higher than in Europe and beyond, attract investments to the USA. These inflows are pushing the dollar to its highest levels for the year, with the US currency up 15% against the yen and 2.3% against the euro since the end of 2023. In countries such as Argentina and Vietnam, the dollar’s purchasing power has never been stronger, the Wall Street Journal noted in a report published on Thursday.
With higher wages in their pockets and record investment income, Americans are boarding planes en masse to every corner of the globe, boosting economies abroad and driving up and down real estate markets in Europe and elsewhere.
Nearly 3 million travelers passed through Transportation Security Administration security checks on June 23, setting a new record. And on these trips abroad, Americans do not spare any expenditure: They stay longer, book expensive tours and bring extra suitcases with them, which they fill with souvenirs and other shopping.
In Japan in particular, American money is taking on even more ground as the yen recently fell to 38-year lows against the dollar.
However, according to data from Mastercard, the top destinations for American travelers this summer are Cancun, Mexico, Aruba and London. Tokyo is also in the top 10, as is Athens.
According to Axios, Albania is also rising in the preferences of American travelers, as prices in the country are still much lower than more established European destinations. Romania is also on the rise, in part because it recently joined the Schengen zone, making travel easier.
In Greece, data from the Bank of Greece show that arrivals from the US increased annually in the four months from January to April by 62.1%, to 267,500 travelers. Travel receipts from American travelers increased by 35.7%, to 204.6 million euros.
