"Miracle" in Athens as Greek tourism numbers keep growing

For an economy stuck in depression-era recession, dependent on emergency bails and seemingly locked in a perpetual fiscal vice, tourism is vital. A record 23.5 million holidaymakers visited Greece in 2015 -- generating €14.2bn in direct receipts, or 24% of gross domestic product. In 2010, at the start of the country's debt crisis -- which has seen it struggle to avert default and remain in the euro -- revenues from tourism were €10bn, or 15% of GDP.

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Much of the upsurge is linked to Greece's safety record. Tourists are staying away from resort in Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey and elsewhere in the wake of high-profile attacks. Countries whose economies are also dependent on holidaymakers have suffered incalculable damage following a severe drop in arrivals. Travel advice from governments and fears of fresh violence are simply keeping tourists away.

... it could not come at a better time: tourism provides one in five jobs in Greece, at a time when unemployment in the effectively bankrupt nation has hovered stubbornly around 25%. Youth unemployment stands at an astonishing 67%.''