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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/
(Reporting by Mark Bendeich, Writing by Michele Kambas, Editing
by Catherine Evans)
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