The Bank of Greece recently released provisional data on the balance of travel services for March, showing a surplus that has more than doubled since March of last year.
The balance of travel services surplus hit $86.8 million in March, a significant increase over the $34.9 million surplus for the same month in the previous year, according to a press release. This increase came despite a drop in travel receipts, which the bank attributes to lower expenditure per trip thanks to mostly stable traveler flows. The surplus increase was driven by a drop in travel payments, which fell 33 percent year-on-year, dropping from $213.2 million last March to $143.2 million in March of this year.
The bank used the March 2017 data to provide insights from January through March. In line with the March trends, the January to March data showed that the balance of travel services surplus has increased from $85.7 million in 2016 to $157.9 million in 2017. Travel receipts in that period have fallen by $29.3 million, amounting to 4.8 percent, while travel payments fell by $101.5 million, or 19.4 percent.
