B. Kikilias: Greece is now a top destination

The Minister of Tourism Vassilis Kikilias referred to this year’s success of Greek tourism but also to its further upgrading through a specific strategy he has drawn up for 2023 in an article in the Real News newspaper.

“It is obvious that Greece exceeds all expectations in terms of its tourism product for 2022. The country is the ultimate summer – and not only – destination for every traveler as it offers unique experiences to those who visit it” emphasizes the Minister of Tourism, pointing out that despite the great adversities caused by the war in Europe, the energy crisis, inflation, punctuality, the pandemic, Greek-Turkish relations, etc., Greece succeeded.

V. Kikilias cites indicatively the increase in travel revenue in June 2022 compared to the “cloudy” 2019, the arrivals at Greek airports which increased by 12% compared to the pre-pandemic period, the beyond all expectations course of tourism on the islands of the SE Aegean where in the first week of August arrivals increased by 17% compared to ΄19, 5,000 cruise ship arrivals as well as the record in direct flights from the USA.

“All of the above is a product of the strategy of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the government and the Ministry of Tourism. It is the result of hard work with the contribution of the private sector as well. A national effort to strengthen the agricultural and commercial world, the construction sector and the hundreds of professions related to tourism” underlines the minister, stressing that the goal is always to support the average Greek family that needs it so much, especially at this time due to the crisis that the whole of Europe is experiencing.

Mr. Kikilias also emphasizes the efforts that have already paid off as well as the next steps that are being taken to further lengthen the tourist season, such as attracting Northern European retirees in the autumn and winter months.

“The season this year started at the beginning of March and we hope to finish at the end of the year, as we will also take advantage of the months of November and December. The energy crisis especially in northern Europe could be our opportunity to bring in autumn and winter northern Europeans retirees in Greece, which has a much sweeter winter with much lower energy needs compared to northern and central Europe. As part of this strategy, we start tours in these countries from the first week of September,” he says.

Regarding the next steps towards the further upgrading of the Greek tourism product, the Minister of Tourism emphasizes that the moves that must be made in this direction have already been launched, pointing out that the multiple tourism and hotel investments that are being made and will be made in our country they give a clearly strong development signal, income and jobs, but at the same time require the implementation of important infrastructure projects on the islands and the mainland and a holistic plan for sustainable tourism development.

More specifically, with regard to sustainable tourism, the axes of the strategy will be the circular economy with an emphasis on the management of water resources and waste (clean water and sewage), electric mobility (replacement incentives, charging networks, car sharing), decongestion in road networks and ports, the energy sector (renewables penetration, energy efficiency), education and digital transformation. The aim of the above interventions, as the minister underlines, is the promotion of Greece as a sustainable tourist destination, the inclusion of tourism in the government’s overall planning for sustainable development as well as the creation of a sustainable culture in the tourism industry.

“This is our vision for Greek tourism and we will continue to work hard to achieve it. We owe it to the country, we owe it to our children,” concludes Mr. Kikilias in his article.

Source: AMPE