Tourism numbers at 07 level
Tourist arrivals in the first eight months of the year were unchanged from last year’s levels despite slower global economic growth and the appreciation of the euro, according to a tourism employer group. SETE, the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises, said data from 13 of the country’s main airports – which account for 95 percent of arrivals – showed a 0.7 percent year-on-year drop in incoming visitors to 8.467 million tourists. «If we also take into account the increase in tourists driving in from Bulgaria and Romania, mainly to areas of northern Greece, then we can conclude that arrivals this year will be the same as last year,» SETE said in a statement. Destinations that saw the biggest growth rate – among visitors flying into Greece – were Chios and Cephalonia with arrivals jumping 24.4 and 19.3 percent respectively in the January-August period. On the downside, tourist arrivals on Santorini fell 4.38 percent year-on-year and 3.43 percent in the case of Corfu.
