Tourism in Greece is on track to yield record high revenues this year, exceeding pre-pandemic levels, according to local officials, industry experts and analysts.

“2022 has been an amazing year for Greek tourism… I’m very happy to say that both branded and alternative destinations, on both islands and the mainland, were full of travelers and tourists this year, and this year we are set to surpass the numbers recorded in 2019, which has so far been a record year in tourism,” Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias told Xinhua.

In 2019, Greece registered 32 million arrivals and some 18 billion euros in tourism-related revenues, according to Bank of Greece figures.

Data so far this year indicate a strong comeback. Tourism-related revenues were 224.5% higher in June and 329.3% higher in January-June 2022 than in the corresponding periods of 2021, according to the latest BoG announcement.

Compared with 2019, revenues increased by 2.3% in June 2022.

A recent Alpha Bank analysis expects Greece’s tourism-related revenues to reach €20 billion this year, thanks to a travel frenzy after the lockdowns during the pandemic, giving a significant boost to GDP.

“After two very difficult years for tourism, we had an extremely positive rebound this year that helps us a lot and helps the Greek economy a lot. As a sector we usually account for 25% of GDP, this is a very big number for a national economy,” said Alexandros Vassilikos, president of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels (HCH). 

This article was previously published at ekathimerini.com.