Determinants of tourism flows to Greece: a gravity model approach.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main demand and supply determinants of international tourism flows to Greece, given the significant impact of tourism on the country’s economy. For the empirical analysis the authors estimated an original gravity equation in which tourism flows depend on classic as well as experimental factors. The used dataset includes tourist arrivals from 19 countries over the period 2005-2015. The resulting coefficient of determination of this model is relatively high and the considered variables are statistically significant. Tourism flows to Greece are negatively affected by the bilateral distance and climate similarity between Greece and the origin countries; furthermore, the response variable is positively affected by the investments in transport infrastructure, the country’s stability and the incomes and EU membership of the origin countries. The proposed recommendations to the Greek stakeholders include: creation of quality infrastructure; synergies with other sectors; boost of competitiveness; establishment of Greece as a safe destination; and, promotional campaigns.