Tornos News | Bank of Greece: Tourism plays a leading role for Greek economic

Despite the very good showing Greece had in terms of managing the first wave of the pandemic, which offered the country the opportunity to be seen as a safe destination for potential travelers, the rise of the Covid-19 cases in the latest wave shows that throughout 2020 Greek tourism lost revenues in tourism along with the other Mediterranean destinations.

The country’s ranking based on the share of arrivals in the total market did not change, while it deteriorated based on the share in revenues. Most countries lost market share, with Italy emerging as the most lucrative destination, despite the dramatic development of the pandemic in that country. A comparison of the data for the first and third quarters of 2020 shows that Italy in the third quarter has a larger share of arrivals and receipts in the Mediterranean market than in the first quarter.

This means that its better performance is due to the long tourist season compared to Greece; to alternative forms of tourism beyond the product “sun and sea”; and its ability to meet a wider range of preferences of travelers, possibly more demanding, who may be able to cover higher expenses.

Tourism plays a leading role, directly and indirectly, in the efforts of the Greek economy to grow, with positive prospects. As the report underlines, the vaccination of the population will provide significant support in the effort to return to normalcy, even with some changes compared to the pre-pandemic data. Tourism can maintain its position in the Greek economy, but it will have to adapt to increasingly competitive conditions and to different destination selection criteria by travelers, as shaped by the pandemic experience (health insurance and quality services).

The report points out that the utilization of the available emergency financial support resources by the EU, in order to create infrastructures of circular economy and green growth with simultaneous protection of the environment, in accordance with the European priorities, can also contribute significantly in this direction.

The Bank of Greece also notes the following in its report:

2021: Beginning of the end for the pandemic, and transition to a new economic reality

2021 marks the beginning of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and a gradual transition to a new normal. The mass rollout of vaccines is a milestone in the global effort to contain the spread of the virus and resolve the public health crisis. Accelerating the vaccination programmes will be crucial to curbing the pandemic and to reopening the economies.

Until then, the pandemic continues to pose, at least in the short term, serious risks to public health and to the rebound of economic activity. Various factors are prolonging the uncertainty, fuelling negative expectations, disrupting economic activity and delaying the recovery, in particular: (a) the difficulty in controlling the pandemic; (b) the fear of coronavirus variants; and (c) the delays in vaccine deliveries and in the implementation of national vaccination programmes across Europe.

Nonetheless, a rebound of global demand and the extension of fiscal stimulus packages provided by the large developed economies, including the new European recovery instrument Next Generation EU (NGEU), in combination with the maintenance of favourable financial conditions, support expectations for a solid recovery in the EU from the second half of 2021 onwards.

The outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020 was a major shock to the world economy. Countries were hit by an unexpected and deep crisis, both health-related and economic. Values, rights and constants were tested. Past certainties about the functioning of societies and economies and about the conduct of economic policy were called into question. The human toll worldwide has been enormous. The world economy experienced its worst peacetime recession in almost 100 years, with global GDP contracting by a historic 3.5%.

The end of the pandemic, however,…