Developments in the balance of travel services: November 2023
22/01/2024 - Press Releases
- The balance of travel services posted a surplus of €206.2 million in November 2023 and a surplus of €17,899.5 million in January-November 2023.
- Travel receipts rose by 18.9% in November 2023 and by 15.4% in January-November 2023.
- Inbound traveller flows increased by 27.5% in November 2023 and by 17.3% in January‑November 2023.
Balance of travel services
Based on provisional data, the balance of travel services in November 2023 showed a surplus of €206.2 million, up from a surplus of €198.5 million in November 2022. More specifically, travel receipts in November 2023 rose by 18.9% to €401.1 million, from €337.3 million in November 2022, while travel payments also increased by 40.4% (November 2023: €194.8 million, November 2022: €138.8 million). The rise in travel receipts was due to a 27.5% increase in inbound traveller flows, as average expenditure per trip declined by 6.4%. Net receipts from travel services accounted for 50.0% of total net receipts from services and offset 7.2% of the goods deficit.
In January-November 2023, the balance of travel services showed a surplus of €17,899.5 million, up from a surplus of €15,684.7 million in the respective period of 2022. Travel receipts rose by €2,682.3 million, or 15.4%, to €20,115.4 million, while travel payments increased by €467.6 million, or 26.7%, to €2,215.9 million. The rise in travel receipts stemmed from a 17.3% increase in inbound traveller flows, as average expenditure per trip fell by 2.7%. Net travel receipts contributed 84.0% to total net receipts from services and offset 60.4% of the goods deficit.
Travel receipts
In November 2023, as previously mentioned, travel receipts rose by 18.9% year-on-year. In more detail, receipts from within the EU27 increased by 26.4% to €178.2 million, while receipts from outside the EU27 rose by 13.6% (November 2023: €195.4 million, November 2022: €172.0 million). The rise in receipts from within the EU27 is attributed to increases in receipts from euro area residents by 32.5% (November 2023: €140.8 million, November 2022: €106.2 million) and in receipts from residents of non-euro area EU27 countries by 7.8% to €37.5 million. More specifically, among major euro area countries of origin, receipts from Germany rose by 74.8% to €44.8 million, whereas receipts from France dropped by 14.1% to €10.1 million. Turning to non-EU27 countries, receipts from the United Kingdom fell by 34.4% to €19.3 million. Receipts from the United States rose by 62.4% to €65.1 million, whereas receipts from Russia decreased substantially by 94.8%.
In January-November 2023, travel receipts totalled €20,115.4 million, up by 15.4% relative to the corresponding period of 2022. This development was due to increases in receipts from residents of the EU27 by 11.0% to €10,997.2 million and in receipts from residents outside the EU27 by 18.4% to €8,419.4 million. In greater detail, receipts from euro area residents rose by 11.9% to €8,927.5 million, as did receipts from residents of non-euro area EU27 countries, by 7.1% to €2,069.7 million. In particular, receipts from Germany grew by 8.7% to €3,510.9 million and receipts from France increased by 11.6% to €1,413.0 million. Turning to non-EU27 countries, receipts from the United Kingdom rose by 6.0% to €3,286.7 million. Receipts from the United States also increased by 15.1% to €1,344.2 million, while receipts from Russia dropped by 22.8% to €31.4 million.
Inbound traveller flows
The number of inbound travellers in November 2023 rose by 27.5% year-on-year to 1,036.1 thousand. Specifically, traveller flows through airports increased by 33.3% compared with the respective month a year earlier, while traveller flows through road border-crossing points rose by 20.0%. This overall increase was due to higher traveller flows from both within the EU27 (up by 30.6%) and outside the EU27 (up by 24.2%). In greater detail, the number of travellers from within the euro area grew by 53.4% to 380.4 thousand. Travellers from non-euro area EU27 countries decreased by 1.2% to 176.4 thousand. Specifically, the number of travellers from Germany increased by 105.5% to 137.6 thousand, while the number of travellers from France dropped by 3.6% to 27.8 thousand. Turning to non-EU27 countries, the number of travellers from the United Kingdom increased by 14.7% to 52.2 thousand. The number of travellers from the United States rose by 49.6% to 101.0 thousand, whereas the number of travellers from Russia fell by 70.8%.
In January-November 2023, the number of inbound travellers rose by 17.3% to 31,969.7 thousand (January-November 2022: 27,255.4 thousand). Specifically, traveller flows through airports increased by 12.5%, while traveller flows through road border-crossing points grew by 34.5%. In the period under review, the number of travellers from within the EU27 rose by 15.0% year-on-year to 19,285.5 thousand, while travellers from outside the EU27 increased by 20.9% to 12,684.2 thousand. The number of travellers from within the euro area rose by 11.0% as also did that from non-euro area EU27 countries, by 23.7%. Specifically, the number of travellers from Germany rose by 8.7% to 4,680.6 thousand and the number of travellers from France increased by 4.0% to 1,809.8 thousand. Turning to non-EU27 countries, travellers from the United Kingdom rose by 2.9% to 4,543.7 thousand as well as those from the United States, by 31.3% to 1,369.9 thousand. Finally, the number of travellers from Russia dropped by 5.9% to 33.2 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 December 2023 will be published on 21 February 2024, as scheduled in the Advance Release Calendar posted on the Bank of Greece website.
Related link:
Detailed and final quarterly data on the balance of travel services are published in the Travel services section of the Bank of Greece website.