Greek Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias said that this year the Greek budget revenues from tourism have already exceeded 18 billion euros.
The financial results for 2022 were announced on Friday, November 18, during the meeting of the leaders of the Hellenic Hoteliers Federation, held in Thessaloniki on the occasion of the 37th Philonexia.
“Official results will be published in March by the Bank of Greece, but I believe that we have already exceeded the Finance Ministry’s target of 15 billion euros in revenue,” said Minister Kikilias in this regard.
The official also noted that Greece is considered one of the top travel brands worldwide, adding that tourists around the world love their country and return almost every summer.
According to Greek media, some regions of Greece have increased their income from foreign tourists compared to the period before the pandemic. And despite the situation in Eastern Europe, inflation, and the energy crisis
The data presented in the report of the Bank of Greece show that the budget receipts from international travelers in the first five months of 2022 increased by more than 500 percent, and the tourist flow increased by 672.5 percent already in May.
As a result, tourism revenue increased to 1.41 billion euros in May this year, compared to 222 million euros in the same period last year, and from January to May, to 2.5 billion euros.
But the Ministry of Health is not so optimistic about the results of the tourist year: despite a significant increase in the number of international arrivals, their figures are still below the level that existed before the pandemic.