Dutch report shows 20 pct rise in Greek bookings

Greece can now look forward to a significant increase in the number of visitors from the Netherlands this summer, judging from data on bookings issued by the Dutch Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators.

The figures show a 20 percent rise in bookings for Greek destinations compared to last year, while the number of bookings for countries closer to the Netherlands has dropped, as is the case for France (19 percent), Germany (18 percent) and Italy (12 percent). This comes in the wake of favorable news from important markets for Greece such as Germany, Britain, France and Russia.

Nevertheless, the year did not get off to a good start for Greek tourism. The number of international arrivals at Greek airports declined by 10.5 percent in January and February, dropping to 305,264 from 341,242 in the same period a year earlier, according to data processed by the Association of Hellenic Tourism Enterprises (SETE), mostly from the airports of Athens and Thessaloniki.

February posted a 7.9 percent fall after a 12.6 percent drop in January.