Tourism arrivals in Greece totaled 4.54 million in the January-July period this year, up 51.4% compared with the corresponding period in 2020, while travel receipts grew 139.7%, representing 37.1% of their 2019 level, the Bank of Greece said on Monday. Greater growth is expected in the August data.

In a monthly report, the central bank said that non-resident arrivals soared 240% in July, totaling 2,815,000 and representing 50% of the July 2019 level, while travel receipts came to 61.4% of July 2019 levels.

In July, the current account registered a surplus, against a deficit in the same month a year earlier, mainly due to an improvement in the services balance and, to a lesser extent, the primary and secondary income accounts, which was partly offset by a deterioration in the balance of goods.

In the January-July period, the current account deficit dropped year‑on‑year, due to an improvement in the balance of services and the primary income account, which was partly offset by a deterioration of mainly the balance of goods. In July, the current account balance showed a surplus of 538 million euros, against a deficit of €797 million in July 2020.

This article was previously published at ekathimerini.com.