Greece witnesses growth in foreign tourism but below pre-Covid peak

In August alone, traditionally the peak of the Mediterranean tourism season, more than 5.8 million foreign visitors came to Greece, a 44 percent increase over the 2021 figures.

The blue waters of Corfu in Greece. Greece witnesses growth in foreign tourism but below pre-Covid peak

Despite rising inflation and the Ukraine war, the number of foreign tourists visiting Greece so far this year has risen sharply, according to official data published on Monday.

But the figures remained below 2019's record pre-pandemic levels, which helped revive the country's tourism-dependent economy after years of crisis.

The Bank of Greece said that from January to the end of August, 19.12 million foreign tourists flocked to the sun-drenched southern European country to explore attractions such as the Athens Acropolis or the Aegean Islands.

This represented an increase of 121 per cent over the same period in 2021, when Covid-19 travel and social restrictions had a huge impact on the tourism sector.

In August alone, traditionally the peak of the Mediterranean tourism season, more than 5.8 million foreign visitors came to Greece, a 44 percent increase over the 2021 figures.

However, the number of tourists in the first eight months of this year was down by 12.4 per cent in the same period in 2019.

Decades-high inflation is eating into the budgets of many European families, while Russian tourists - frequent visitors to the beaches of Crete or Corfu - are sharply down because of the fallout from the Ukraine war and European sanctions.

Tourism represents a quarter of Greece's annual economic output, but questions remain over the region's future.

Some islands are becoming saturated with tourists, while others have become so expensive that many Greeks can no longer afford to live there.