ATHENS, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Greece's tourism receipts rose by 12 percent year-on-year to 13.52 billion euros (15.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the first seven months of 2026, while the number of non-resident travelers visiting the country increased by 8.6 percent to 20.43 million, according to the latest data released by the Bank of Greece on Tuesday.
It's also evident in July that tourism receipts saw a faster growth than visitor numbers. Non-resident arrivals fell 3.1 percent year-on-year while tourism receipts rose 7.2 percent to 4.72 billion euros(5.4 billion U.S. dollars) during the period, driven by a 10.0 percent increase in average expenditure per trip.
By market, tourism receipts from residents of 27 European Union members rose 6.9 percent to about 7.09 billion euros (8.11 billion U.S. dollars), while receipts from residents of countries outside the EU increased 18.3 percent to around 5.78 billion euros (6.61 billion U.S. dollars).
Among major source markets, tourism receipts from residents of Italy rose 31.6 percent to 828.1 million euros (946.7 million U.S. dollars), while receipts from France fell 16.8 percent to 623.7 million euros (713 million U.S. dollars).
Despite the decline in July arrivals, the tourism sector continued to support Greece's external balance. The Bank of Greece said the country's services surplus widened in January-July, reflecting an improvement in the balance of travel services.
