K. Mitsotakis: We are expecting a good year in tourism

“We are expecting a good year. 2022 will be the first summer in three years that we will not have essentially pandemic restrictions and our goal is to capitalize on the good image of the country”, noted the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a meeting with the political leadership of the Ministry Tourism, on the course and prospects of tourism for this season.

“All the first signs, all the early indicators are extremely encouraging. The first 20 days of April went very well in terms of both imported tourism and domestic tourism. And with a lot of hard work, with the cooperation of the tourism industry, we will continue in this direction “, stressed Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The Prime Minister paid special attention to the workers in the sector, pointing out that the employers should strictly observe the rules of the labor legislation. “I would like to send a message to all tourism professionals: that tourism workers must be involved in the development dynamics of the industry. This not only means better earnings, it also means strict observance of the terms of labor law. We will be very strict “In the controls that we will do this summer and we are not going to accept any phenomenon of abuse of power by the employer to the detriment of the employees in Greek tourism”, he said.

The Prime Minister was informed about the important preparations that have been made as well as about the optimistic messages sent by the leading indicators of the tourist traffic for the coming months.

The entire statement of the Prime Minister

I thank the leadership of the Ministry of Tourism for the very important work that has been done in recent months. 2022 will be the first summer in three years where we will not have essentially pandemic restrictions and our goal is to capitalize on the good image of the country, so that we have the best possible tourist season this spring, summer, autumn and – why not- in winter. Because the central goal of the government is to expand the tourist season.

But we know that the summer months are extremely important, the preparatory work that has been done is worthwhile and we hope that the long Greek summer of 2022 will be extremely profitable for the Greek economy, for professionals in the industry, but also for hundreds of thousands of workers in the tourism industry.

And since we are also talking about employees, I would like to send a message to all tourism professionals: that tourism employees should also be involved in the development dynamics of the industry. This does not only mean better earnings, it also means strict observance of the terms of labor law. We will be very strict in the controls that we will do this summer and we will not accept any phenomenon of abuse of power by the employer to the detriment of employees in Greek tourism.

I also attach great importance to Social Tourism programs. I believe that relatively soon we will be ready to make announcements so that these programs can be expanded and people who are in financial difficulty and facing the effects of this global economic crisis can take their vacations with the support of the Greek state, with transparent and fast ways, utilizing technology. And I will wait very soon for the final announcements of the Ministry in this direction.

So we are waiting for a good year. All the first signs, all the early signs are extremely encouraging. The first 20 days of April went very well both in terms of imported tourism and in terms of domestic tourism. And with a lot of hard work, with the cooperation of the tourism industry, we will continue in this direction.

The Minister of Tourism, Vassilis Kikilias, stated: Mr. President, you and your government have met with great success all the great challenges of recent years. This created added value in the country, upgraded the brand name “Greece” and this, in turn, brought increased flow of visitors, strengthening the Greek economy and the Greek family. As a result, we have a strong tourist flow in the winter destinations, in the city break, and in the Easter holidays, and of course, the three days of May Day follow.

We work hard until the end of the season and then we will make a fund, helping the primary sector, the health stores, the commercial world and, of course, the hundreds of thousands of employees in tourism.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of Tourism, Vassilis Kikilias, the Minister of State, Akis Skertsos and the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Sofia Zacharaki.