More tourists, less spending
Is the profile of tourists visiting Greece changing? Do they stay fewer days and therefore spend less money, or do they also choose budget accommodation solutions due to the recession in Europe? Is the peak season changing as the climate crisis turns July and August into uncomfortably hot months? Or is Greece losing higher-income visitors to travelers with much lower budgets?
Experts and economists in the sector are trying to answer these questions following the publication of data showing a significant drop in the average expenditure per trip in July – alongside an increase in arrivals.
Although in order to make a complete assessment of these figures there must first be data on overnight stays – how many days private individuals stay in Greece – the first indications are alarming. The average spending per trip of the country’s incoming visitors in July presented a large decrease, of the order of 9.1%, compared to the same month in 2023, according to data from the Bank of Greece on the travel balance. So, while arrivals increased by 4.1%, receipts decreased by 4.2%.
There was also a drop in average expenditure per trip for the entire January-July period by 5.7% compared to 2023, which was a record year for arrivals and receipts in Greek tourism. A closer look, moreover, shows that revenues from Greece’s main markets, mainly France but also Germany, decreased even more. In July, while visitors from France increased by 4.3%, their spending decreased by 34.2%. Citizens from Germany increased by 12.3% but receipts from them dropped by 9.9%.
A possible explanation is that July and August in the Mediterranean have now become particularly hot months, with unpleasant conditions, while the increase in visits mainly concerns short trips by young people who stay fewer days and spend less money, and no families. Some tourism industry sources worry that arrivals of higher-income visitors, who typically spend much more, could also be declining.
