The first bell for the new reality that Greek tourism is entering was the drop in revenue in the month of July this year compared to the same month last year despite the increase in arrivals.
July revenues according to the Bank of Greece decreased by 4.2% compared to the same month of 2023, while on the contrary arrivals moved up by 4.1% in July, causing a concern and as it seems that from the continuous rises by all indicators the “largest industry of the country” passes into a more complex and contradictory image.
An image that is due to many factors but primarily requires an integrated strategy to develop a more sustainable tourism.
The president of the Panhellenic Federation of Hoteliers, Yiannis Hatzis comments to ot.gr that the figures of the Bank of Greece show that Greek tourism is now entering the era of the “mixed picture”. We already see that some areas are showing downward trends this year while the whole is positive, now we also have a different trend in a month in arrivals and revenues.
Hotel operators note that the government’s choice to strengthen the presentation of short-term rentals with the occupants of these accommodations “cooking spaghetti every day in the accommodation they rent reduces the average expense. The increased revenues of supermarkets in tourist areas attest to this trend, they add.
In recent years there has been a tendency to decrease the number of vacation days
Other factors note that the decrease in income is also due to the decrease in spending by foreign travelers due to the recession prevailing in the major European markets and the drop in consumer confidence.
Also, the average expenditure per trip is also related to the duration of the vacation. In recent years there has been a tendency to decrease the number of holiday days for tourists due to the general economic situation in the European economy.
Another reason combined with the above is the rise this year in road arrivals to higher levels than last year. Tourists who come to our country by road have a lower average expenditure, with the result that as their specific weight increases, the total decreases.
Decrease in average spend
Another assessment of tourism factors is that there is also an expense in short-term rental accommodation that is not declared and they are reminiscent of the examples of tax evasion in short-term rental businesses that have recently been discovered.
It should also be noted that last year in July the country recorded a large increase in arrivals and revenue to levels of more than 20%, while at the same time the average expenditure per trip showed a decrease of 0.6% compared to July 2022.
A further decline in average spend with the slight rise in arrivals this year may lead to a further decline in receipts.
The overall picture of collections
In any case, the announcement from next Monday of the detailed data of the Bank of Greece on the travel balance is expected to shed further light on the phenomenon.
It is recalled that according to yesterday’s announcement by the Ministry of Finance, in July 2024 compared to July 2023, the arrivals of non-resident travelers increased by 4.1%, while the related receipts decreased by 4.2% to 4,031.4 million euros.
However, total receipts in the seven months of January-July amounted to 10,952.7 million euros compared to 10,375.2 million euros in the seven months of 2023 (an increase of 5.56%).
SOURCE: ot.gr
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