Greece Sees 99% Drop in Travel Revenue During April Lockdown

The limitations on travel and businesses imposed to stem the spread of COVID-19 erased nearly all travel revenue for Greece in April, according to Bank of Greece figures.

Provisionary figures show travel invoices stood at seven million euros in April, compared with 544 million euros in the exact same month last year, or a drop of 98.7 percent, Greece’s main bank stated Monday.

Greece’s economy depends heavily on tourist, which directly and indirectly represents around 20 percent of its yearly gross domestic product. After an early lockdown imposed in early March kept coronavirus deaths and major diseases at low levels, the nation is now reopening to visitors from abroad, with the federal government hoping to restore what it can from the lucrative summertime traveler season.

Visitors have been able to fly into Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki given that June 15, while direct global flights to regional airports restart on July 1. Year-round hotels were permitted to open earlier this month, however many stay shut due to a lack of reservations.

Travel invoices in the four months from January to April visited 51.4 percent from a year previously, the Bank of Greece said, with a 36-percent drop in the variety of individuals showing up in the nation.