ATHENS, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Despite rising tourist arrivals in recent years, the annual revenues for those working in the tourism sector have declined as visitors are spending less money on average, a survey released Tuesday by the Labor Institute of GSEE, the umbrella union of private sector employees, showed.
Three out of ten Greeks, or 15.5 percent of Greece's workforce, work in the tourism sector, according to the survey. Between 33 and 39 percent are indirectly employed in tourism sector.
Traditionally, the tourism industry is one of the stronger growth drivers of the Greek economy, accounting for about 18 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), even during the years of the debt crisis.
However, revenue from international tourism in recent years has declined, as foreign visitors have reduced their length of stay in Greece and with this comes a drop in spending. In 2005, the average tourist spent 10.7 days in Greece and 745.7 euros per trip compared to 6.9 days and 470.5 euros per trip in 2016, the survey found.
The annual revenue from international tourism arrivals last year reached around 13.2 billion euros, down 6.4 percent compared to the previous year, according to a recent report from the Bank of Greece.
Regarding domestic tourism, the picture seems gloomier: 53.6 percent of Greeks can't afford a week's holiday this year, while the average is 33 percent for the entire European Union (EU), according to Eurostat data released on Monday.
Greece expects to welcome more than 30 million visitors in 2017, up from 27.5 million people in 2016 and 25 million in 2015, according to the Greek tourism ministry. (1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars)
