Bank of Greece reports smaller February 2025 travel services surplus as travel payments rise 18.9%

The Bank of Greece published provisional data showing Greece’s balance of travel services recorded a EUR 90.0 million surplus in February 2025, down from EUR 121.3 million in February 2024, and a EUR 177.5 million surplus in January–February 2025, down from EUR 237.3 million a year earlier. The narrower surplus reflected travel payments rising much faster than travel receipts, alongside a small year-on-year fall in inbound traveller numbers in February. Travel receipts increased by 0.5% year-on-year to EUR 297.1 million in February, driven by a 1.2% rise in average expenditure per trip despite a 0.8% decline in inbound traveller flows, while travel payments rose by 18.9% to EUR 207.0 million. In January–February, receipts rose by 3.9% to EUR 599.3 million as inbound traveller flows increased by 5.4% and average expenditure per trip fell by 1.4%, while payments increased by 24.3% to EUR 421.8 million. Receipts from EU27 residents fell (February: -11.8% to EUR 137.9 million), while receipts from non-EU27 countries rose (February: +14.6% to EUR 154.9 million), with notable increases from the United States and the United Kingdom and declines from Germany and France; no receipts were recorded from Russia in February. Net travel receipts offset 3.6% of the goods deficit in February and 3.3% in January–February. The next press release on developments in the balance of travel services, covering March 2025, is scheduled for 22 May 2025.