Non-resident arrivals up 13.1pct in Jan-Mar

Non-resident arrivals from abroad rose by 13.1 percent in the first five months of the year, the Hellenic Statistical Service (ELSTAT) said on Wednesday.
According to the Border Statistical Survey conducted by the Bank of Greece, in the period Jan-March of 2011, arrivals of non-residents from abroad increased by 13.1%, as compared with the same period of the year 2010, ELSTAT said.
More specifically,arrivals from Europe,which account for the majority of arrivals of non-residents to Greece (81.7%), registered a increase of 8.6% in Jan-March 2011 as compared with the same period of 2010, while arrivals from the Member States of the European Union recorded a increase of 1.1%. Arrivals from Russia (79.8%), France (70.5%), Albania (53.9%), U.K (32.4%), showed a significant increase.
On the other hand, a significant decrease of arrivals was observed in the cases of Italy (29.4%), Germany (19.5%), and Cyprus (15.9%).
As regards to the distribution of arrivals by country of origin of non-residents, the largest number of arrivals came from Bulgaria (10.3%), Cyprus (8.5%), Germany (7.8%), the United Kingdom (7.1%). Moreover the corresponding data for the rest of the continents show a significant increase of arrivals from Asia for the period Jan-March 2011 as compared with the same period of 2010.
The analysis of the data by means of transportation and by point of entry shows that most arrivals are by air, and airports with the largest proportion of traffic to be those of Athens (Eleftherios Venizelos) (40.0%), and Thessaloniki (6.6%).