B. Kikilias: ‘Growth in Greece will be higher than the Eurozone average due to tourism’

The catalytic role and contribution of tourism to the Greek economy was mentioned by the Minister of Tourism, Vassilis Kikilias, speaking at the Economist conference, on the topic entitled: “Tourism in Greece and new sustainable goals”.

The Minister of Tourism focused on the optimistic data resulting from the good start of this year’s tourist season, which – as he pointed out – reinforce the expectations that our tourism product will be a strong bulwark against inflationary pressures, supporting growth and giving a significant boost to the GDP of country. In fact, Mr. Kikilias focused on the recent forecast of the Economist Intelligence Unit, which speaks of growth in Greece greater than the Eurozone average due to the performance in tourism, but also on the latest forecasts of the British HSBC, which speaks of a strong growth of 6.5% -from 4%- for this year in our country, thanks to the dynamics displayed by the tourism sector. “Our tourism product stands out in this year’s strong card. And this did not happen by chance, but with a plan, methodical, hard work and proper preparation,” said the Minister of Tourism.

Referring to the theme of the Conference, Mr. Kikilias emphasized that the transition of Greece to a sustainable tourism model is an immediate government priority. “And together with the bodies of the Ministry, we have already proceeded with the implementation of our strategy in this direction”, he characteristically said.

In this context, the Minister of Tourism referred to the example of the emblematic projects in Astypalaia, Halki and Tilos which implement in practice – as you pointed out – the basic principles of the circular economy and energy autonomy, upgrading the tourism product of the country and making it Greece is a pioneer in accelerating the green transition. “Corresponding action plans have also been drawn up for Mykonos and Santorini, two of our islands that are a global destination”, added Mr. Kikilias, referring to actions related to the development of basic infrastructure projects, water management resources, integrated solid waste management and addressing the traffic issue. “Despite the difficulties we face – pandemic, energy and inflationary crisis – Greece remains committed to the goal of sustainable development. We do the same for our tourism product, through the close cooperation of the public sector with the private sector and with our main concern the improvement of the quality of life of the Greeks, the enhancement of the visitor’s experience, but also the increase of our tourism revenues,” noted the Minister of Tourism.

Mr. Kikilias made a special mention of the collaboration announced by the Ministry of Tourism, in April, with the technological giant Google to accelerate the green and sustainable transformation of Greece’s tourism sector, as well as the financing – of 1 million dollars – from Google.org to support organizations that help social enterprises in our country, with an emphasis on sustainability and ecotourism. “The shift in terms of sustainability in tourism is not an empty letter, as – according to a recent ITEP survey on behalf of Google and the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels – three out of four hotel owners consider the implementation of sustainability practices particularly critical for the future of the hotel their business”, added the Minister of Tourism.

He focused, in particular, on the Special Spatial Planning for tourism, the completion of which is – as he emphasized – the first step in order to create the right infrastructures, to eliminate the phenomenon of unregulated tourist development, to protect the natural beauties of our country and to further stimulate domestic entrepreneurship.

Finally, Mr. Kikilias underlined the strategic choice of the Ministry of Tourism to open new destinations twelve months a year, to attract high-income visitors, as well as new investments. In this light, he referred to the projects – over 100 million euros – through the Recovery Fund for thermal, mountain and diving tourism, fields that are directly related to the principles of sustainable development for “a cleaner and greener future “, as he characteristically said. “Why, all this could not be implemented without the necessary resources. And the Government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis – having regained the confidence of the markets, partners and investors, in these three years – has proven in practice that it is the only reliable force which can and will continue to take Greece forward”, concluded the Minister of Tourism.