Greece is placed among the countries with the highest growth in foreign tourist arrivals in the world, as a report for the first half of the year by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) shows. Figures indicate that foreign tourist arrivals in Greece for the first six months of the year went up 16.7 percent from a year earlier, same with Argentina.

International tourist arrivals worldwide made 517 million, up 4.6 percent from a year earlier, says the report, while arrivals in Europe soared by 5 percent.

In terms of growth, worldwide, during the first half of 2014, Taiwan came first (26.7 percent). Next came Japan with 26.4 percent, followed by Mexico with 19.8 percent, South Korea (18.5 percent) and Greece and Argentina with 16.7 percent.

Other destinations following Greece are Vietnam (15.6 percent), Poland (13 percent), Portugal (12.2 percent), Hong Kong (10.5 percent) and Malaysia “in draw” with Sweden with 10.5 percent.