Tourists in Greece spend far less than in Spain, Cyprus

On average, each visitor to Greece in June spent 45 percent less than their counterparts in Spain in the same month and 20 percent less than those in Cyprus, according to comparisons of official data from the three Mediterranean countries that compete for visitors in the tourism market.

Data show that the average expenditure per visitor came to 589 euros in Greece in June, against 1,065 euros in Spain and 735 euros in Cyprus.

In terms of rates of increase in tourism revenues in the Mediterranean, Turkey was the champion in June, posting 27.1 percent year-on-year growth to more than 1.5 billion euros. In Cyprus travel expenditure rose 15.3 percent from June 2016, and in the first half of the year spending rose 19.9 percent from the year before to reach 996.4 million euros. Spain enjoyed a 14.9 percent annual increase in June, collecting 8.98 billion euros.

Greece posted a similar rise, amounting to 14.2 percent in June to more than 2 billion euros, but in the January-June period the annual increase amounted to just 7.1 percent from the first half of 2016.

The Hellenic Statistical Authority also announced on Wednesday a 7.3 percent increase in turnover in the accommodation and food service sectors in April-June.