Greek presidents are not given to speaking off the cuff. So when Prokopis Pavlopoulos went off script last week to entreat CNN’s Christiane Amanpour to visit his country next summer, it was noticeable.

“This is a hospitable country,” he said in a rare interview with a foreign TV channel. “Hopefully you can come back next summer. After all, the Greek people are always appreciative of those who care about them.”

Like Greek politicians across the board, Pavlopoulos did not miss the chance to advertise his homeland abroad. It is easy to see why. Tourism has become the mainstay of an economy not only locked in a perpetual fiscal vice – the price of being bailed out to the tune of more than €300bn – but languishing in the longest running recession since the second world war.

Figures released by Greece’s tourism confederation, SETE, reveal the extent to which the sector is protecting Europe’s weakest economy. With a 6.5% increase in tourist arrivals at major airports between January and August – the equivalent of about 750,000 holidaymakers – the industry accounted for eight out of 10 new jobs.

Extrapolating ministry of labour data, the confederation said 210,226 of the 253,945 positions created in that time were either in tourist accommodation or restaurants. Unemployment, still the worst in the 28-nation bloc, fell to 23.1% between April and June, down from an all-time high of 28% in 2014.

Greek PM Alexis Tsipras with Prokopis Pavlopoulos, right. Photograph: Fotis Plegas G/EPA

“Despite everything that has happened in the last year, despite Greece debating and arguing with its [bailout] lenders, despite Brexit, and global financial instability in the market, tourism still managed to outperform every other sector,” the tourism chief, Andreas Andreadis, said in an interview.

British holidaymakers, after Germans, lead the league tables in arrivals to Greece with an estimated 2.4 million visiting in 2015. “But what has been really surprising is Brexit,” added Andreadis. “In terms of effect it has not been at all significant and already the picture is looking very positive for next year with early bookings doing better than expected.”

Gareth Plumb and his wife, Pauline, are testimony to that trend. They have been visiting the tiny Argo-Saronic isle of Agistri for 12 years.

Next year will be no different despite the slide in sterling since the vote for Brexit. “We love Greece,” said Gareth, 79, who is the manager of the author Barbara Cartland’s country estate. “And, if anything, the way it has been treated by the EU has made us want to come back more. Things will even out. The fall in the pound will stop.”

Industry figures say the country has not only benefited from turmoil in the Middle East, security fears in Turkey and terrorist attacks elsewhere in Europe, but also the dramatic drop in refugees in the six months since the EU signed a controversial deal with Ankara to stop the flow.

Aegean islands close to the Turkish coast that bore the brunt of the influx – such as Lesbos and Chios – have seen the number of tourists plummet but Andreadis claimed even Kos, which was similarly hit, had begun to bounce back. “It is recovering well and will, if anything, suffer a single digit dip. People realise that the flows have stopped and it is safe.”

Tourism takings – and arrivals – broke all records last year. More than 23.5 million tourists visited, generating €14.2bn (£12bn) of revenues – or 24% of gross domestic product - according to the Bank of Greece.

SETE forecasts that up to 25 million – or 27.5 million when cruise ship passengers are included – will come this year, which is more than twice the Greek population.

But officials worry Greece could be priced out by taxes imposed by a government facing enormous pressure to raise funds and rein in public spending. VAT has soared over the past year with the ruling leftists increasing it from 6.5% to 13% on accommodation costs and from 13% to 24% on food and beverages.

“It is crucial taxes are reduced,” said Andreadis. “We understand that VAT has exploded this year and is way above budget. Lenders agreed that if performance was better than expected they would bring it down. This has to happen soon.”