Developments in the balance of travel services: February 2025
22/04/2025 - Press Releases
- The balance of travel services posted a surplus of €90.0 million in February 2025 and a surplus of €177.5 million in January-February 2025.
- Travel receipts rose by 0.5% in February 2025 and by 3.9% in January-February 2025.
- Inbound traveller flows fell by 0.8% in February 2025 and grew by 5.4% in January-February 2025.
Balance of travel services
Based on provisional data, the balance of travel services in February 2025 showed a surplus of €90.0 million, down from a surplus of €121.3 million in February 2024. More specifically, in February 2025, travel receipts rose by 0.5% to €297.1 million, up from €295.5 million in February 2024, while travel payments also increased by 18.9% (February 2025: €207.0 million, February 2024: €174.2 million). The rise in travel receipts stemmed from an 1.2% increase in average expenditure per trip, as inbound traveller flows decreased by 0.8%. Net travel receipts offset 3.6% of the goods deficit and accounted for 28.9% of total net receipts from services.
In January-February 2025, the balance of travel services showed a surplus of €177.5 million, down from a surplus of €237.3 million in the same period of 2024. Travel receipts rose by €22.8 million or 3.9% to €599.3 million, while travel payments also increased by €82.5 million or 24.3% to €421.8 million. The rise in travel receipts was driven by a 5.4% increase in inbound traveller flows, as average expenditure per trip fell by 1.4%. Net travel receipts offset 3.3% of the goods deficit and contributed 31.5% to total net services receipts.
Travel receipts
In February 2025, as mentioned previously, travel receipts grew by 0.5% year-on-year. In more detail, receipts from residents of the EU27 decreased by 11.8% to €137.9 million, whereas receipts from other countries grew by 14.6% (February 2025: €154.9 million, February 2024: €135.2 million). The lower receipts from within the EU27 were due to decreases in receipts from euro area residents by 13.0% (February 2025: €111.6 million, February 2024: €128.3 million) and in receipts from residents of non-euro area EU27 countries by 6.5% to €26.3 million.
More specifically, among major euro area countries of origin, receipts from Germany dropped by 22.7% to €25.6 million, while receipts from France fell by 41.8% to €8.1 million. Receipts from Italy increased by 70.3% to €20.9 million. Turning to other countries, receipts from the United Kingdom rose by 31.7% to €20.2 million, while receipts from the United States also increased by 94.0% to €47.2 million. Lastly, no receipts were recorded from Russia.
In January-February 2025, travel receipts totalled €599.3 million, up by 3.9% year-on-year. This development was due to an increase in receipts from other countries by 16.7% to €310.9 million, as receipts from residents of the EU27 decreased by 7.3% to €282.2 million. In greater detail, receipts from euro area residents fell by 2.1% to €240.9 million and receipts from residents of non-euro area EU27 countries decreased by 29.4% to €41.3 million.
Specifically, receipts from Germany dropped by 4.0% to €61.1 million and those from France by 44.9% to €18.0 million. Receipts from Italy increased by 37.8% to €43.8 million. Turning to other countries, receipts from the United Kingdom increased by 34.3% to €45.5 million, while receipts from the United States increased by 51.2% to €88.1 million. Lastly, receipts from Russia stood at €1.6 million.
Inbound traveller flows
The number of inbound travellers in February 2025 fell by 0.8% year-on-year to 715.9 thousand. Specifically, traveller flows through airports dropped by 0.1% year-on-year, while traveller flows through road border-crossing points decreased by 1.5%. This overall decrease was due to lower traveller flows from EU27 countries (down by 6.4%), as traveller flows from other countries grew by 5.9%. In greater detail, the number of travellers from within the euro area rose by 2.2% to 263.7 thousand, whereas travellers from non-euro area EU27 countries decreased by 23.6% to 99.7 thousand.
Specifically, the number of travellers from Germany rose by 5.9% to 66.2 thousand, whereas the number of travellers from France decreased by 43.7% to 15.4 thousand. Travellers from Italy increased by 43.2% to 35.0 thousand. Turning to non-EU27 countries, the number of travellers from the United Kingdom rose by 0.5% to 28.6 thousand, while travellers from the United States also increased by 46.8% to 60.3 thousand. Lastly, no travellers were recorded from Russia.
In January-February 2025, the number of inbound travellers rose by 5.4% to 1,537.5 thousand (January-February 2024: 1,458.6 thousand). Specifically, traveller flows through airports increased by 12.3%, whereas traveller flows through road border-crossing points decreased by 5.7%. In the period under review, the number of travellers from within the EU27 fell by 1.8% year-on-year to 741.9 thousand, whereas travellers from other countries increased by 13.2% to 795.6 thousand. The number of travellers from within the euro area rose by 13.6%, whereas travellers from non-euro area EU27 countries decreased by 34.5%.
Specifically, the number of travellers from Germany rose by 21.4% to 161.2 thousand, whereas the number of travellers from France fell by 44.6% to 38.7 thousand. Travellers from Italy increased by 28.8% to 80.8 thousand. Turning to non-EU27 countries, the number of travellers from the United Kingdom rose by 62.2% to 104.8 thousand, as did that from the United States by 13.6% to 108.8 thousand. Lastly, the number of travellers from Russia stood at 0.6 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 March 2025 will be published on 22 May 2025, in accordance with the Advance Release Calendar 2025, 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.