Developments in the balance of travel services: July 2023
21/09/2023 - Press Releases
- The balance of travel services posted a surplus of €3,884.7 million in July 2023 and a surplus of €8,941.5 million in January-July 2023.
- Travel receipts rose by 15.1% in July 2023 and by 20.2% in January-July 2023.
- Inbound traveller flows increased by 15.8% in July 2023 and by 21.9% in January-July 2023.
Balance of travel services
Based on provisional data, the balance of travel services in July 2023 showed a surplus of €3,884.7 million, up from a surplus of €3,409.6 million in July 2022. More specifically, travel receipts in July 2023 rose by 15.1% to €4,146.2 million, from €3,601.7 million in July 2022, while travel payments also increased by 36.1% (July 2023: €261.4 million, July 2022: €192.1 million). The rise in travel receipts was due to a 15.8% increase in inbound traveller flows, as average expenditure per trip declined by 0.6%. Net receipts from travel services accounted for 90.3% of total net receipts from services and more than offset (148.2%) the goods deficit.
In January-July 2023, the balance of travel services showed a surplus of €8,941.5 million, up from a surplus of €7,521.9 million in the same period of 2022. Travel receipts rose by €1,736.5 million, or 20.2%, to €10,321.1 million, while travel payments increased by €316.8 million, or 29.8%, to €1,379.6 million. The rise in travel receipts stemmed from a 21.9% increase in inbound traveller flows, as average expenditure per trip fell by 1.8%. Net travel receipts offset 49.7% of the goods deficit and contributed 81.7% to total net receipts from services.
Travel receipts
In July 2023, as mentioned previously, travel receipts rose by 15.1% year-on-year. In more detail, receipts from residents of the EU27 increased by 11.3% to €2,291.9 million, while receipts from outside the EU27 rose by 20.3% (July 2023: €1,779.8 million, July 2022: €1,479.5 million). The rise in receipts from within the EU27 is attributed to increases in receipts from euro area residents by 12.0% to €1,747.1 million (July 2022: €1,560.1 million) and in receipts from residents of non-euro area EU27 countries by 9.0% to €544.9 million. More specifically, among major euro area countries of origin, receipts from Germany grew by 2.1% to €581.4 million and receipts from France increased by 14.9% to €322.0 million. Turning to non-EU27 countries, receipts from the United Kingdom rose by 17.3% to €764.3 million, while receipts from the United States increased by 0.9% to €214.4 million. Receipts from Russia also increased, by 40.9% to €6.3 million.
In January-July 2023, travel receipts totalled €10,321.1 million, up by 20.2% relative to the same period of 2022. This development was due to increases in receipts from residents of the EU27 by 14.7% to €5,648.8 million and in receipts from residents outside the EU27 by 27.0% to €4,403.4 million. In more detail, receipts from euro area residents rose by 15.1% to €4,550.6 million, while receipts from residents of non-euro area EU27 countries increased by 13.0% to €1,098.2 million. In particular, receipts from Germany grew by 7.0% to €1,716.5 million, while receipts from France grew by 23.9% to €782.0 million. Turning to non-EU27 countries, receipts from the United Kingdom rose by 11.9% to €1,620.3 million. Receipts from the United States increased by 33.8% to €737.8 million, while receipts from Russia rose by 13.7% to €21.7 million.
Inbound traveller flows
The number of inbound travellers in July 2023 rose by 15.8% year-on-year to 6,108.6 thousand. Specifically, traveller flows through airports increased by 9.0% compared with July 2022, and traveller flows through road border-crossing points rose by 36.2%. This overall increase was driven by higher traveller flows from both within the EU27 (up by 18.7%) and outside the EU27 (up by 11.0%). In greater detail, the number of travellers from within the euro area grew by 12.0% to 2,293.8 thousand. Travellers from non-euro area EU27 countries also increased by 29.9% to 1,589.6 thousand. Specifically, the number of travellers from Germany increased by 16.1% to 746.4 thousand, as did the number of travellers from France, by 0.5% to 372.5 thousand. Turning to non-EU27 countries, the number of travellers from the United Kingdom dropped by 1.4% to 802.0 thousand, whereas travellers from the United States increased by 10.6% to 209.1 thousand. Finally, the number of travellers from Russia rose by 58.1% to 6.3 thousand.
In January-July 2023, the number of inbound travellers rose by 21.9% to 16,170.4 thousand (January-July 2022: 13,260.6 thousand). Specifically, traveller flows through airports grew by 15.5%, while traveller flows through road border-crossing points increased by 45.0%. In the period under review, the number of travellers from within the EU27 rose by 20.5% year-on-year to 9,719.9 thousand, while travellers from outside the EU27 increased by 24.1% to 6,450.5 thousand. The number of travellers from within the euro area rose by 14.1%, while travellers from non-euro area EU27 countries increased by 35.3%. Specifically, the number of travellers from Germany rose by 11.4% to 2,301.7 thousand and the number of travellers from France increased by 12.4% to 1,012.4 thousand. Turning to non-EU27 countries, travellers from the United Kingdom rose by 3.2% to 2,096.3 thousand and travellers from the United States increased by 43.5% to 737.4 thousand. Finally, the number of travellers from Russia fell by 1.8% to 19.6 thousand.
Note:
Inbound traveller flows exclude cruise passengers other than those recorded in the Border Survey.
Related information:
The next Press Release on “Developments in the balance of travel services” for August 2023 will be published on 23 October 2023, as scheduled in the Advance Release Calendar posted on the Bank of Greece website.
Related link:
Detailed and final data on the balance of travel services are published in the Travel services section of the Bank of Greece website.