crossed borders in one year,” he said. “This is
very impressive especially in front of the very seri-
ous challenges the world was facing for the last
five to six years: economic downturn, natural dis-
asters, health epidemics and security and geopo-
litical tensions.” Nonetheless, tourism has been
growing, and this year’s growth rate is expected
at 3-4%. He also added that he is very impressed
with Greece. Two to three years ago, “people
were expecting Greece to fall apart.” No one
would bet on the country’s future. “Today, there is
still much more to be done, but nobody talks
about collapse anymore.” He also added that the
country has done a lot. And tourism has con-
tributed to that. This was also an issue that Mr.
Rifai discussed with both the Prime Minister and
the President. In all countries of the European
South, e.g. Spain, tourism has helped societies
overcome many difficulties. According to Mr. Rifai,
Greece’s performance for last year, almost 27.5
million arrivals, is a “very impressive record,”
while 2017 is expected to be an equally impres-
sive year.
High hopes for increased
bookings from the UK and the US
SETE Intelligence, SETE’s research institute,
believes that consumer confidence in each coun-
try of origin is crucial for the growth of arrivals this
year. In its Monthly Statistical Bulletin for February
2017, SETE Intelligence added a consumer con-
fidence index (CCI), which covers Greece and its
key markets. According to SETE Intelligence, this
index can act as a very good leading indicator of
expected demand in each market, since the
propensity to travel is directly related to consumer
confidence.
in January, Slovakia demonstrated the highest
consumer confidence, with the relevant OECD
index (CCI) at 102.8. During the same period, the
OECD average stands at 101.2, increased by 0.6
year-on-year. Finland recorded the greatest
increase, by +3.7%, with a CCI of 103.4. Turkey
recorded the greatest decline, by 2.3% with a CCI
of 96. Turkey and Greece reported the lowest
CCIs (96 and 96.8 respectively), reporting the
Trade with Greece
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