During the last few years, Greek tourism and especially Greece’s capital, Athens are gaining ground on the international tourism market.
According to MasterCard figures, visitors in Athens are expected to spend a total of 1.4 billion euros, an increase of 27% compared to 2013. The rise in the number of tourists in Athens is estimated at 17.8% compared to 2013 with a total of 1.9 million visitors expected to arrive to the Greek capital.
Figures from large retail companies (F F Group-Folli Follie, Attica) confirm this increase in tourists and also reveal that tourists from western Europe are most cautious in spending while visitors from China, Russia, the Middle East and Turkey spend more in shopping, especially in Kolonaki stores, the up-scale area of downtown Athens.
Chinese and Russian tourists are considered the champions of tax-free shopping in 2014 according to data by Global Blue, a tourism shopping tax refund company which operates in 37 countries across the world, including Greece.
Chinese tourists spend the most in tax-free shopping (27%). Their favorite markets are France, Germany and Singapore, and they spend the most in clothing. Russians are the second-biggest spenders with 17%.
However, despite the rise of tourism, Athens is still behind other European capitals such as London. According to the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index, the British capital is expected to attract 18.69 million visitors who will spend 14.1 billion euros.
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