News World news Greece Eurozone crisis knocks Greek tourist trade

The number of holidaymakers arriving in Rhodes by charter flights declined by 53,000 between January and May 2012. Photograph: Eyeswideopen/Getty Images

International tourists are shunning Greece, and hampering the country's economic recovery, as figures reveal that holidaymakers are deterred by the country's role in the euro zone debt crisis.

The fall in the number of foreign visitors is a blow to a country that largely relies on tourism. Nearly 11% fewer tourists came to Greece between January and May than a year earlier, according to latest figures from the Bank of Greece. Holidaymakers who traveled to Greece spent €1.48bn (£1.2bn), 12.5% less than in the same period last year.

The figures do not bode well for Greece's attempts to keep to its deficit reduction plan.  Last week officials from the IMF, the European Union and the European Central Bank – the so-called troika – warned that Greece had strayed from its cost-cutting plan, amid estimates that the economy is contracting by 7% this year rather than the 5% previously forecast.

Uncertainty over whether Greece will stay in the euro, and two national elections in May and June that attracted global media coverage, put people off spring breaks in the Mediterranean country, although last-minute bookings appear to have picked up.

The number of holidaymakers arriving on charter flights in Rhodes dropped by 53,000 between January and June, according to Rhodes airport. British tourists were the biggest group of visitors to the island, up 5.7% to nearly 108,000, while the number of Germans, the second-biggest group, fell 24% to 65,700. This was partly offset by a 28% rise in Russian tourists.

Overall, 2.2 million Germans holidayed in Greece last year, but that number is expected to have dropped this year, according to the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE). Britons were the second-biggest group to visit Greece in 2011, with 1.7 million visitors down from 1.8 million in 2010.

The situation is so dire that the Greek government, elected in June, has appointed a tourism minister for the first time since 2009. Olga Kefalogianni lost no time in sending out a positive message to foreign visitors, in an attempt to boost holiday bookings for the key summer season, when she said last week that Greece was "back in business".

There is great value for money, holiday prices are competitive and we still offer very good quality. We now have political stability and we want to encourage people to choose Greece."

Domestic tourism has plummeted however – Greeks are too cash strapped to go back to their villages.

Kefalogianni said talks were under way with tour operators on targeted campaigns to bolster tourism. Next year, Greece hopes to tap into the growing popularity of sustainable tourism by promoting innovative eco-friendly hotels and uncoil areas. Another focus is niche markets such as yachting and golfing holidays, conferences and cruising – with more cruise ships encouraged to drop anchor in Greece.