Developments in the balance of travel services: April 2025
23/06/2025 - Press Releases
- The balance of travel services posted a surplus of €778.6 million in April 2025 and a surplus of €1,177.0 million in January-April 2025.
- Travel receipts rose by 17.4% in April 2025 and by 10.6% in January-April 2025.
- Inbound traveller flows increased by 6.4% in April 2025 and by 5.8% in January‑April 2025.
Balance of travel services
Based on provisional data, the balance of travel services in April 2025 showed a surplus of €778.6 million, up from a surplus of €666.0 million in April 2024. More specifically, in April 2025, travel receipts rose by 17.4% to €1,084.3 million, up from €923.7 million in April 2024, while travel payments also increased by 18.7% (April 2025: €305.8 million, April 2024: €257.7 million). The rise in travel receipts stemmed from both a 6.4% rise in inbound traveller flows and a 10.6% increase in average expenditure per trip. Net travel receipts offset 27.0% of the goods deficit and accounted for 77.8% of total net receipts from services.
In January-April 2025, the balance of travel services showed a surplus of €1,177.0 million, up from a surplus of €1,137.2 million in the same period of 2024. Travel receipts rose by €206.4 million, or 10.6%, to €2,157.1 million, while travel payments also increased by €166.6 million, or 20.5%, to €980.1 million. The rise in travel receipts was driven by a 5.8% increase in inbound traveller flows and a 4.4% rise in average expenditure per trip. Net travel receipts offset 10.3% of the goods deficit and contributed 60.1% to total net receipts from services.
Travel receipts
In April 2025, as mentioned previously, travel receipts grew by 17.4% year-on-year. In more detail, receipts from residents of the EU27 decreased by 3.9% to €505.7 million, whereas receipts from residents of other countries grew by 50.9% (April 2025: €514.3 million, April 2024: €340.9 million). The fall in receipts from within the EU27 was due to a decrease of 10.4% in receipts from euro area residents (April 2025: €427.3 million, April 2024: €476.9 million), as receipts from residents of non-euro area countries increased by 58.8% to €78.4 million.
More specifically, among major euro area countries of origin, receipts from Germany rose by 15.5% to €183.3 million. Receipts from France dropped by 20.3% to €78.2 million and receipts from Italy also fell by 44.5% to €33.7 million. Turning to other countries, receipts from the United Kingdom grew by 27.9% to €95.8 million, as did receipts from the United States, by 81.0% to €181.7 million. Receipts from Russia also grew to €0.4 million.
In January-April 2025, travel receipts totalled €2,157.1 million, up by 10.6% year-on-year. This development is mainly attributed to an increase of 26.0% in receipts from residents of other countries, which stood at €1,040.3 million, as receipts from residents of the EU27 decreased by 1.8% to €1,025.6 million. In greater detail, receipts from euro area residents fell by 5.7% to €861.5 million, while receipts from residents of non-euro area EU27 countries rose by 25.4% to €164.1 million.
Specifically, receipts from Germany increased by 0.8% to €297.1 million, whereas receipts from France dropped by 25.0% to €110.2 million and receipts from Italy fell by 6.6% to €110.3million. Turning to other countries, receipts from the United Kingdom grew by 23.4% to €167.8 million, receipts from the United States rose by 36.8% to €325.5 million and receipts from Russia increased to €2.5 million.
Inbound traveller flows
The number of inbound travellers in April 2025 rose by 6.4% year-on-year to 1,663.2 thousand. Specifically, traveller flows through airports increased by 6.8% year-on-year, while traveller flows through road border-crossing points grew by 6.1%. This overall increase was due to higher traveller flows from other countries (up by 34.9%), as traveller flows from EU27 countries decreased by 11.1%. In greater detail, the number of travellers from within the euro area dropped by 8.2% to 706.5 thousand, while the number of travellers from non-euro area EU27 countries declined by 22.4% to 155.5 thousand.
Specifically, the number of travellers from Germany dropped by 9.3% to 231.1 thousand, whereas travellers from France increased by 10.1% to 104.0 thousand. Travellers from Italy decreased by 39.9% to 70.7 thousand. Turning to non-EU27 countries, the number of travellers from the United Kingdom increased by 41.1% to 127.1 thousand and the number of travellers from the United States rose by 43.5% to 150.8 thousand. The number of travellers from Russia stood at 0.9 thousand.
In January-April 2025, the number of inbound travellers rose by 5.8% to 4,122.2 thousand (January-April 2024: 3,896.0 thousand). Specifically, traveller flows through airports increased by 10.8%, whereas traveller flows through road border-crossing points declined by 3.9%. In the period under review, the number of travellers from within the EU27 fell by 5.4% year‑on‑year to 2,041.1 thousand. Βy contrast, the number of travellers from other countries grew by 19.7% to 2,081.2 thousand. Travellers from within the euro area increased by 3.2%, while travellers from non-euro area EU27 countries decreased by 27.9%.
Specifically, the number of travellers from Germany rose by 3.6% to 475.5 thousand, whereas the number of travellers from France fell by 22.6% to 164.6 thousand. Travellers from Italy also decreased by 11.0% to 198.3 thousand. Turning to non-EU27 countries, the number of travellers from the United Kingdom rose by 41.5% to 294.6 thousand, as did the number of travellers from the United States, by 26.9% to 339.5 thousand. Lastly, the number of travellers from Russia rose to 2.8 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 May 2025 will be published on 22 July 2025, in accordance with the 2025 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.