Der Standard: Tourism in Greece is "blooming"

It is the only developmental driving force for the Greek economy

"Tourism in Greece is blooming," is the title of today's article in the Austrian newspaper «Der Standard», where the subtitle says that at the moment tourism is the only developmental driving force for the Greek economy.

"The thriving tourism in Greece, the euro country facing a crisis, generates high revenues and is the only developmental driving force for the Greek economy that is on the 6th consecutive year of recession," the article reads at the start.

"Throughout June, revenue from tourism increased by 21% compared with the same month last year, and reached 1.6 billion euros, while in the first half this year the turnover increased by 18% at 3.3 billion euros and for 2013 the tourism sector aims to increase its revenues by 10% to 11 billion euros and is expecting a record number of 17 million visitors."

According to «Der Standard», hoteliers, restaurant owners and others involved in the provision of services in tourism, have reduced their prices and improved their services to attract tourists. Many visitors stay longer and spend more, such as tourists from Russia, whose number has increased from January to May, nearly by a third.

As the article notes, the positive development in tourism has contributed to an increase in the surplus on the current transactions in Greece during June to 663 million euros against 73.1 million last year.