sented all competent agencies with its road map
for Greece 2021, with the aim of attracting 35 mil-
lion tourists and revenues of 19-20 billion euros
by 2021.
That said, the biggest challenge for the Greek
tourism market, apart from attracting more
arrivals and breaking another record, is to
increase average per capita tourist spending.
This issue ranks high in the industry leaders’
agenda. It should be noted that the average
expenditure per trip fell by 9.3% in the period
January-September, to 546.6 euros. In contrast,
the average expenditure per trip in Spain stood at
1,005 as per September 2016.
Advance bookings to Greece up
by 45%
According to the 7 largest tour operators, such as
TUI or Thomas Cook, advance bookings have
increased by 15-45%. This points to a very good
season. Tourism accounts for 25% of Greece’s
GDP and employs 1/5 of the workforce. According
to Secretary General of the United Nations World
Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Taleb Rifai,
whatever happens in tourism has a national
impact. “Greece is a success story in tourism dur-
ing the last 2-3 years, especially if we consider
the special conditions and challenges the country
had to face on all levels,” he recently stated,
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