With the global vaccination effort continuing, travel and tourism are starting to return, which should give some emerging economies like Greece life. At the same time, the Global X MSCI Greece ETF (GREK) should see strength.
Per a Reuters report, Greece’s tourism minister predicted that an uptick in tourist visits will begin in March. Obviously, COVID-19 put up a major roadblock for tourism in Greece, which resulted in just $4.5 billion in tourism revenue for 2020.
Things began to turn around in 2021. That’s a good sign for Greece because tourism accounts for 20% of the country’s economic output as well as one in five jobs.
2021 saw more than double the revenue in 2020, which is an obvious improvement but is still a far cry from its high in 2019. Nonetheless, there is optimism that 2022 will bring strong numbers after a couple years of pain.
“There is great demand and great dynamic for Greek tourism in 2022,” Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias said. “Big tour operators, big airline companies, want to prolong the period (from March through December).”
“There are strong signs for Greek tourism,” Kikilias added.
A Growth Opportunity
That optimism is warranted given the performance of GREK so far this year. The ETF is up close to 11% and should provide investors opportunities, especially for those looking to add EM exposure to diversify their portfolios.
GREK seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI All Greece Select 25/50 Index. The underlying index is designed to represent the performance of the broad Greece equity universe.
At a 0.57% expense ratio, GREK gives investors:
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- Efficient access: Efficient access to a broad basket of Greek securities.
- Targeted exposure: Targeted single-country exposure.
- A unique offering: The first and only ETF to directly target Greece.
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