Record travel to Greece in recent years has spurred equally fantastic growth in Greece tourism employment. The number employed in the sector is now 10.6 percent of all jobs in the country, according to figures from the Bank of Greece and INSETE.
Greece tourism employment in the third quarter of 2018 was the highest since 2009, according to a study by the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation (INSETE). The study also showed the growing impact of the tourism sector from 2009 to 2018, comparing it with others. In short, tourism accounts for 20 percent of Grece’s Gross Domestic Product of 181.42 billion euros ($200.3 billion.)
The study also pointed out that tourism employment in the quarter last year surveyed hit 411,100 higher than the previous record registered in 2017 of 398,700. INSETE attributes the rise to overall recovery of losses sustained in 2009-13 during the beginning of the country’s economic crisis.
The report shows, employment in the accommodation and food sectors increased by an average annual rate of 1.3 percent from 2009 to 2018, while it spiked from 2014 onwards. Employment in these sectors rose 12.7 percent between 2009-18.
In addition, part-time employment since 2013 has grown accordingly with both in accommodation and catering (16.3 percent) and in other sectors (8.5 percent) about half compared to European Union levels. The early figures from 2019 show tourism employment account for 16.7 percent of overall employment as of May.
Overall, employment in these sectors rose by 12.7 percent between 2009 and 2018, according to Kathimerini. Numbers for 2019 are not in, but a big decline in bookings in the first part of this year may impact Greece tourism employment for the coming reports. March was a disaster according to all reports, with a 27.7 percent decline in all international arrivals compared to 2018.
