WTTC sees tourism rising 3 pct in Greece this year

By Stathis Kousounis

Greece’s travel and tourism sector will enjoy growth of 3 percent this year compared with 2013, when the sector’s contribution in the country’s gross domestic product amounted to 28.3 billion euros or 16.3 percent, according to a report by the World Travel & Tourism Council.

The WTTC study also found that tourism’s contribution to employment last year came to 18.2 percent of the country’s total, as direct and indirect employment in the sector amounted to 657,057 jobs. Investment in tourism and travel came to 2.9 billion euros – i.e. 13.7 percent of total investment in Greece in 2013. The WTTC expects investment in the sector to grow by 0.9 percent on a yearly basis in 2014.

Greece’s 15.3 percent growth in foreign arrivals in the January-November 2013 period was the second highest among destinations in Europe, America, Africa and the Middle East, after Iceland’s 15.7 percent.