Tourism accounts for about a fifth of Greek economic output.
Asked during an interview at the Reuters Next conference on Wednesday whether authorities were sticking to their 4.5 percent growth forecast for 2022, Mitsotakis said: “It could even be higher than that.
“Assuming there is no major hiccups with the pandemic, assuming that the pandemic is gradually going to come to an end during the first six months of 2022, I’m very bullish about the prospects of the Greek economy.”
Visitor arrivals rebounded strongly this year after pandemic lockdowns battered the tourism sector in 2020, contributing to a 9% economic contraction.
Mitsotakis said the Greek economy was poised to grow by more than 7% this year, adding: “We have already made up all the lost ground from the pandemic.”
Greece required three international bailouts from 2010 to 2015, together worth more than 260 billion euros, to prevent bankruptcy. It returned to international markets in 2017, but its sovereign paper is still considered speculative grade.
Mitsotakis said he expected the country’s credit ratings to return to investment grade “at the latest” by early 2023.
To watch the Reuters Next conference please register here https://reutersevents.com/events/next/
Source: Economy - investing.com
