Developments in the balance of travel services: August 2026
22/10/2026 - Press Releases
- The balance of travel services posted a surplus of €4,381.2 million in August 2026 and a surplus of €15,420.3 million in January-August 2026.
- Travel receipts rose by 6.5% in August 2026 and by 9.4% in January-August 2026.
- Inbound traveller flows increased by 13.4% in August 2026 and by 10.0% in January-August 2026.
Balance of travel services
Based on provisional data, the balance of travel services in August 2026 showed a surplus of €4,381.2 million, up from a surplus of €4,248.1 million in August 2025. More specifically, travel receipts increased by 6.5% to €4,867.3 million in August 2026, from €4,568.7 million in August 2025, while travel payments also increased by 51.6% (August 2026: €486.0 million, August 2025: €320.6 million). The rise in travel receipts stemmed from a 13.4% increase in inbound traveller flows, as average expenditure per trip decreased by 6.5%. Net travel receipts more than offset 187.0% of the goods deficit and accounted for 96.2% of total net receipts from services.
In January-August 2026, the balance of travel services showed a surplus of €15,420.3 million, up from a surplus of €14,335.2 million in the same period of 2025. Travel receipts rose by €1,558.1 million, or 9.4%, to €18,197.5 million, while travel payments increased by €473.0 million, or 20.5%, to €2,777.2 million. The rise in travel receipts was driven by a 10.0% increase in inbound traveller flows, as the average expenditure per trip remained almost unchanged compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. Net travel receipts offset 71.5% of the goods deficit and contributed 92.3% to total net receipts from services.
Travel receipts
In August 2026, as mentioned previously, travel receipts stood at €4,867.3 million, up by 6.5% year-on-year. In more detail, receipts from residents of the EU27 rose by 19.2% to €3,003.6 million, while receipts from residents of other countries decreased by 11.5% (August 2026: €1,673.2 million, August 2025: €1,890.9 million). The rise in receipts from within the EU27 was driven by increases in receipts from both euro area residents by 22.2% to €2,432.4 million (August 2025: €1,991.0 million) and residents of non-euro area EU27 countries by 8.2% to €571.2 million.
Specifically, among major euro area countries of origin, receipts from Germany rose by 24.2% to €835.5 million, as did receipts from France, by 16.2% to €307.5 million. Receipts from Italy also increased, by 31.3% to €428.2 million. Turning to other countries, receipts from the United Kingdom declined by 32.8% to €564.9 million, whereas receipts from the United States grew by 52.3% to €346.3 million.
In January-August 2026, travel receipts totalled €18,197.5 million, up by 9.4% year-on-year. This development reflects higher receipts from both EU27 residents, up by 10.3% to €10,097.9 million, and residents of other countries, up by 8.9% to €7,383.1 million. In greater detail, receipts from euro area residents rose by 15.3% to €8,390.1 million, while receipts from residents of non‑euro area EU27 countries fell by 8.5% to €1,717.8 million.
Specifically, receipts from Germany increased by 7.2% to €2,858.8 million, whereas receipts from France decreased by 8.1% to €931.9 million. Receipts from Italy grew by 31.7% to €1,258.1 million. Turning to other countries, receipts from the United Kingdom increased by 5.0% to €2,665.2 million, as did receipts from the United States, by 21.0% to €1,466.9 million.
Inbound traveller flows
The number of inbound travellers in August 2026 rose by 13.4% year-on-year to 8,466.0 thousand. Specifically, traveller flows through airports increased by 4.9% compared with August 2025 and those through road border-crossing points by 32.2%. This overall increase reflected higher traveller flows from both EU27 countries (up by 16.7%) and other countries (up by 8.0%). In greater detail, the number of travellers from within the euro area rose by 18.4% to 4,281.9 thousand, as did the number of travellers from non-euro area EU27 countries, by 10.6% to 1,128.1 thousand.
Specifically, the number of travellers from Germany increased by 9.2% to 1,180.9 thousand, whereas travellers from France decreased by 6.1% to 423.3 thousand. The number of travellers from Italy grew by 17.5% to 652.2 thousand. Turning to other countries, the number of travellers from the United Kingdom fell by 15.9% to 822.8 thousand, while the number of travellers from the United States increased by 33.4% to 232.4 thousand.
In January-August 2026, the number of inbound travellers rose by 10.0% to 28,509.3 thousand (January-August 2025: 25,920.7 thousand). Specifically, traveller flows through airports increased by 5.7% and those through road border-crossing points by 22.6%. In the period under review, the number of travellers from within the EU27 grew by 11.0% year-on-year to 16,971.3 thousand, while travellers from other countries increased by 8.5% to 11,538.0 thousand. The number of travellers from countries within the euro area increased by 14.7%, whereas travellers from non-euro area EU27 countries decreased by 2.7%.
Specifically, the number of travellers from Germany rose by 8.1% to 4,210.4 thousand, whereas the number of travellers from France fell by 5.4% to 1,346.5 thousand. Travellers from Italy increased by 22.1% to 1,924.8 thousand. Turning to other countries, the number of travellers from the United Kingdom grew by 3.9% to 3,404.0 thousand, while the number of travellers from the United States declined by 1.5% to 1,062.4 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 September 2026 will be published on 23 November 2026, in accordance with 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.