With 16 million international arrivals and € 10 billion in revenue for 2012, the Greek tourism industry is a crucial element for economic growth, according to Andreas Andreadis, President of the Federation of Hellenic Tourism Enterprises (SETE).

Addressing the BoG shareholders’ meeting on February 26, Andreadis expressed optimism that foreign arrivals shall increase by one million in 2013, on the basis of data indicating a 20 % increase in the British and a 15% rise in the German, French and Nordic country markets.

Furthermore, rising demand from Russia, Ukraine, Israel and Turkey has led to a more than 20% increase in charter flights.Andreadis further estimated that a € 2.5 billion annual investment in tourism is feasible, in which case the tourist industry would account for 40% of Greece’s growth over the next ten years, according to the Mckinsey report Greece Ten Years Ahead.


Moreover, he pointed to the opportunities presented for the good use of idle tourist real estate property, the streamlining of visa granting procedures and the need to reduce to 6.5% VAT for tourism services. He expressed confidence that these measures could lead to 20 million international arrivals over the next 2 or 3 years, thus contributing 3 points per year in the Greek GDP and tens of thousands of working positions.