Greece posts new tourism record in 2023

Athens: Greece posts new tourism record in 2023 for tourism, the country’s central bank has said, despite a prolonged heatwave and a series of destructive wildfires that necessitated thousands of evacuations.

Over 32.7 million people visited the country last year, the Bank of Greece said in releasing preliminary figures, despite the wave of wildfires around the country that left at least 26 dead.

In some areas, temperatures exceeded 46 degrees Celsius (114.8 Fahrenheit).

Tens of thousands of visitors had to be evacuated on the islands of Rhodes and Corfu in July. A month later, fires devastated a key national park near the border with Türkiye.

Massive floods then struck central Greece in September last year.

In 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign arrivals were at a then record of 31.3 million.

Revenue also set a new milestone with nearly 20.5 billion euros ($22.1 billion) compared to 18.15 billion in 2019.

Compared to 2022, EU traveller flows rose 15.6 percent while non-EU arrivals were also up by 20.8 percent.