Spending by tourists drops further than estimated

Tourism revenues declined by more than 1 billion euros in the first nine months of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015, while average spending per trip to Greece registered a new low, according to figures released on Monday by the Bank of Greece.

The data revealed that the extent of decline was far greater – by some 300 million euros – than provisional figures had shown about six weeks ago, as the country’s tourism takings came to 11.78 billion in the January-September 2016 period.

Average spending per trip showed a remarkable 13.2 percent decline from 2015, coming to 491.2 euros against 565.9 euros in 2015. This was the first time the amount has fallen below 500 euros since the central bank began calculating the figure – which relies on what surveyed tourists declare.