Greek tourism to see moderate growth in 2012

Page last updated at 03:39 GMT, Friday, March 30, 2012 - 08:39 EST

Reuters:

Foreign tourists admire the volcanic island of Sandorini from the Blue Star Paros vessel during a nine-hour trip...

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Visits to Greece's sun-drenched islands and ancient ruins account for about 15 percent of the economy and one in five jobs, making income from tourism crucial for a country grappling with a fifth year of recession.

Roughly 10 percent more tourists visited Greece last year, largely due to lower fares and the political turmoil in popular holiday destinations Egypt and Tunisia. The tourism sector contracted by a fifth in 2009-2010.

Greek industry officials have said that, based on a fall in pre-bookings from Germany, they expected tourism revenues to shrink this year.

But Taleb Rifai, secretary general of the U.N. World Tourism Organization, struck a more optimistic note on Thursday.

Read the whole story: Reuters