SETE says it expects a record 28 million tourists in 2017

Visitor numbers to Greece will top 35 million a year by 2021, while tourism revenues will range between 19 and 20 billion euros, contributing 6 or 7 percent of gross domestic product, Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) president Andreas Andreadis told Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras during a meeting at Maximos Mansion on Monday in the presence of SETE vice president Yiannis Retsos and Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura.

The prime minister said 30 million arrivals is a realistic target for this year, adding that this would also depend on international events. SETE officials responded that this season could register a record reaching up to 28 million visitors.

The tourism industry representatives stressed the need for the creation of an observatory for the analysis of statistics regarding arrivals and tourism takings. According to data from the Bank of Greece, there was a 905...