2024-04-15 15:00:11
The latest study by the Institute of the Association of Hellenic Tourism Enterprises (INSETE) on the “Contribution of tourism to the Greek economy in 2023” provides interesting data on how international accuracy affects the course of the average tourist expenditure per capita.
Specifically, based on the Institute, interesting conclusions emerge from the calculation of the Average Per Capita Expenditure (MPP), which is directly related to the Average Length of Stay (MPL) at the destination. In particular, the MKD, at 605.8 euros in 2023, recorded a small drop (-2.3%) compared to 2022, while the MDP also saw a decrease from 7.8 per 7 nights last year.
In other words, it is observed that the increase in the daily expenditure of tourists is accompanied by a proportionally greater decrease in the duration of their trips, which is an indication either that the increase in the cost of vacations per day leads to a limitation of the duration of the vacation, with the result that the total cost, or that short-term vacations (city breaks) are gaining market share over holiday vacations, which are more expensive due to their longer duration.
Accordingly, it also happens in relation to 2019, although the reduction of the MDT -from 7.4 nights in 2019 to 7 nights in 2023- is proportionally smaller than the increase of the MDT (from 76.1 euros in 2019 to 87 euros in 2023). This fact is probably due to the inflation of the years 2022 and 2023, but also to the increased trend recorded for travel and vacations after the coronavirus pandemic.
It is worth noting that, internationally, hotel prices have been on the rise, registering strong double-digit growth rates compared to 2019. Catering services, due to energy and raw materials, have also recorded significant growth rates.
This year, in Greece, based on industry executives, the increase in hotel prices is estimated to be close to 10%.
Based on ELSTAT, an increase is recorded for March:
2% in the “Transport” group, mainly due to price increases in: new cars, used cars, car parts and accessories, fuel and lubricants, maintenance and repair of personal transport equipment, air passenger tickets.
3.3% in the “Leisure-Cultural activities” group, due to price increases mainly in: information processing equipment, small leisure items, flowers, pets, sports and leisure activities, cinema-theatres, holiday packages.
The footprint
In the meantime, the direct contribution of tourism to the Greek economy reached 28.5 billion euros in 2023, an amount that corresponds to 13% of the country’s GDP and is the highest, historically, for the sector to date. In 2022, the corresponding figures were 23.9 billion euros and 11.6% of GDP and in 2019 23.1 billion euros and 12.6% of GDP.
The figures come from the latest study by the Institute of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (INSETE) on “The contribution of tourism to the Greek economy in 2023”, according to which if the indirect contribution of the sector through multipliers is taken into account, the corresponding percentage rises about 30%. Tourism activity remains mainly export, since 82.7% of receipts come from inbound tourism. Furthermore, the sector directly contributed to the peak, in Q3 2023, of 16.4% of employment and overall (directly and indirectly) to around 40%, contributing to the reduction of unemployment.
The direct contribution
As regards the direct contribution of the sector for the previous year, it amounted to 28.5 billion Euros and is divided among the figures by the expenditure of inbound tourism (20.7 billion Euros including the expenditure of cruise passengers), air transport ( 2.5 billion euros), maritime transport (144 million euros), spending by cruise lines (235 million euros), domestic tourism (2.5 billion euros) and domestic value added from investments (2, 5 billion euros).It is recalled that, according to the first estimate of ELSTAT, the GDP of the country, at current prices, in 2023 was 220.3 billion euros, increased by 6.6% compared to 2022.
The direct impact of tourism increased by 23.5% compared to 2019’s €23.1 billion, with significant increases in all individual expenditures (inbound tourism, cruise, transport, domestic tourism, investment). Compared to 2022, where the direct impact was €23.9 billion, the increase in 2023 amounted to 19.5%, also with significant increases in all individual costs. Noteworthy, in 2023, is the increase in investments to 5.1 billion euros, of which around 2.5 billion euros correspond to domestic added value, against 2.7 billion and 1.2 billion euros, respectively , in 2019 and €3.7 billion and €1.7 billion in 2022. Another positive performance, with receipts more than doubling in 2023, is linked to the cruise industry. With 3.3 million arrivals and €847 million in receipts last year, the cruise was up 64% and 102% respectively over 2022 and 26% and 70% over 2019.
The indirect contribution
Based on the multiplier for the sector used by IOBE in combination with the multipliers of the individual sectors of the Greek economy of KEPE (accommodation, catering, sea-road-air transport, trade, entertainment, travel agencies, car rental, conferences), the resulting tourism multiplier amounts to 2.65, which means that for every 1 euro from tourism activity, an indirect and induced additional economic activity of 1.65 euro is created and therefore, overall, the GDP increases by 2.65 euro. Therefore, the tourism activity multiplier ranges between 2.2 and 2.65.
Taking into account the multiplier benefits, the total contribution of tourism to the country’s economy in 2023 is estimated between 62.8 billion euros and 75.6 billion euros, figures corresponding to between 28.5% and 34.3% of the GDP. The corresponding figures for 2022 were between 52.6 billion-63.3 billion euros which correspond to 25.4% to 30.6% of GDP, while for 2019 they were 50.8-61.2 billion. euros corresponding to 27.7% to 33.4% of GDP.
As stated by Ilias Kikilias, Director General of INSETE, on the occasion of the publication of the study, “the resilience, dynamism and vital contribution of tourism to the Greek economy are indisputable. After all, his overall contribution touches a multitude of sectors, positively affecting the standard of living of citizens. In today’s – full of challenges – environment, however, the need for targeted strategies based on sustainable development is more imperative than ever. The effective management and governance of destinations and investments in infrastructure are the minimum conditions for the sector to maintain its competitiveness, offering the maximum possible boost to the Greek economy and society.”
George Alexakis
Source: Reporter.gr