Greece witnesses a 4% increase in bookings for 2016

Greece is becoming a popular destination for Brits travelling abroad in 2016, as the country plans to double its UK tourist numbers by 2017.

In light of the country’s ambitious plans, the newly elected Alternate Minister for Tourism, Elena Kountoura has added more air capacity from Britain, while also prolonging the holiday season and introducing more niche tourism packages.

Brits arriving on Greek shores

Ms Kountoura explained that in the year to August Greece had already seen a 25% increase in the number of Brits arriving on the Greek shores.

From January to August 2015, Greece saw 1.8 million Brits holiday in the country; compared to 1.4 million during the same period in 2014 while travel receipts from this period jumped 33.5%.

Meanwhile, the latest figures for 2016 also reveal an increase in bookings for Greece next summer; already rising 4% year-on-year.

The country’s four-year tourism development strategy is beginning to show results however, the real evidence of this success will be witnessed in 2017 and 2018, Ms Kountoura said.

British tourism is a huge part of the Greek economy; making up between 18-20% of its GDP and so it’s only natural for the Government to be focused on investing in new infrastructure, developments and quality services, she added.

New routes to the country

While 60% of the British holidays taken in Greece in 2015 were during the peak of summer in July, August and September, the country is set to increase passenger numbers during other seasons; as March 2015 saw the largest spike in passenger numbers – up 254% year-on-year.

In the meantime, airlines including Aegean and Jet2 are introducing new routes in a plight to increase capacity between Britain and Greece.

Ms Kountoura has acknowledged that the strength of the pound against the euro has also played a significant role in the increase of business to Greece.

In 2014 alone the country welcomed 22 million international tourists, while they’re set to hit 26 million in 2015.

Will you be taking off to Greece next year? Don’t forget to book your European travel insurance in advance.

Date Created: 05/11/2015