Greece sees 99% drop in travel revenue during April lockdown
CGTN
The seven-foot bronze statue of Zeus during the reopening of the Archeological museum in Athens, Greece, June 15, 2020. /AP

The seven-foot bronze statue of Zeus during the reopening of the Archeological museum in Athens, Greece, June 15, 2020. /AP

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

Provisional figures show travel receipts stood at seven million euros in April, compared with 544 million euros in the same month last year, or a drop of 98.7 percent, Greece's central bank said Monday.

Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in Athens, Greece, June 15, 2020. /AP

Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in Athens, Greece, June 15, 2020. /AP

Greece's economy depends heavily on tourism, which directly and indirectly accounts for around 20 percent of its annual gross domestic product. After an early lockdown imposed in early March kept coronavirus deaths and serious illnesses at low levels, the country is now reopening to visitors from abroad, with the government hoping to salvage what it can from the lucrative summer tourist season.

Visitors have been able to fly into Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki since June 15, while direct international flights to regional airports restart on July 1. Year-round hotels were allowed to open earlier this month, but many remain shut due to a lack of bookings.

Travel receipts in the four months from January to April dropped by 51.4 percent from a year earlier, the Bank of Greece said, with a 36-percent drop in the number of people arriving in the country.

Source(s): AP