S. Zacharaki: 17 million euros for actions of promotion and promotion of the special gastro-agritourism network

The connection of the agri-food sector and the Greek production with the hospitality sector is progressing rapidly and the Ministry of Tourism is investing strategically in this perspective. Speaking to APE-MPE, both the Deputy Minister of Tourism Sofia Zacharaki, responsible for issues of special forms of tourism, as well as professionals active in the primary sector of the economy make it clear that this is an insurmountable need that will differentiate the Greek tourism product from the competition. .

“One of the great bets for Greek tourism is the – as much as possible – the greatest and most substantial differentiation internationally. The consolidation of its unique identity and the elements that compose it. In other words, the consciousness and preservation of the authentic and genuine Greek “color, the experience gained by the visitor of our country. And what more authentically Greek and special than the Greek primary production?” characteristically notes the competent Deputy Minister Sofia Zacharaki in APE-MPE.

This is the reason why the Ministry of Tourism is now strategically investing in the connection of the agri-food sector and Greek production with the hospitality sector, as Sofia Zacharaki emphasizes. Specifically, the focus is on the production units with the ministry encouraging and systematically promoting their extroversion: with the new law of the Ministry of Tourism, a Special Traffic Unit Label was introduced for the first time for three new categories of productive sectors. Thus, after the Visitable Wineries follow the Visitable Breweries, Cheese Factories and Olive Mills, says the Deputy Minister of Tourism.

At this point, those directly involved in this effort, companies operating from one end of Greece to the other, only perceive as positive the fact that areas that are not in the first line of traffic will be able to attract visitors, by car in Greek products.

Greek beers are ambassadors of quality for the country and their places of production

Beer, cheeses and oil, along with other foods and beverages, are an important part of the life of the places, of their authenticity, of their “truth”, notes Alexandros Kouris, owner – founder of NISOS Brewery in APE-MPE. It is culture and history. They are people and their daily creations. They offer enjoyment, become local “symbols” and attract visitors, adds Mr. Kouris. Referring to the tourist experience, it is weakened every time the visitor consumes a massive, over-available, indifferent, industrial oil, cheese or beer in place of some exceptional, special, local producers who carry the soul of the place and its people, he emphasizes.

Focusing on the initiative of the Ministry of Tourism, Mr. Kouris notes that it covers a significant gap. “Finally, it officially integrates Greek beer, cheese and oil into the Greek tourism product, recognizing that their breweries are poles of attraction for visitors. Beer today is by far the largest alcoholic beverage in Greece, many times more than wine and of distillates both in volume and in value “, he emphasizes.

Greek beers are ambassadors of quality for the country and their places of production and tourists prefer them and have a great desire to get to know them. The ISLAND, whose facilities are located in Tinos, and other breweries throughout Greece, we receive thousands of visits every summer. “In our case, the visitors of Tinos or neighboring islands enthusiastically discover the flavors of our different beers, our many international awards and our short but important for the industry, our history”, says Mr. Kouris.

Regarding the visit to the company’s facilities in Tinos, Mr. Kouris notes that scheduled visits are carried out with tastings of the different beers offered directly from its tanks or cellars and often accompanied by other local products. “We have chosen not to sell beers to our visitors so that they can buy them from the local shops. With this and many other ways we create a” chain “of value that spreads and benefits the whole island”, Mr. Kouris underlines and adds that The brewery operates under the highest safety standard FSSC 22000 and will hasten to adopt the brand of the Visitable Brewery.

The cycle of cheese production in a visitable cheese factory in Grevena

“And only when a family comes from Athens to Grevena is very important for us”, explains to APE-MPE the cheesemaker Michalis Safarikas, who maintains the homonymous family business in the area. In fact, he adds that feta is a worthy “ambassador” of Greek tourism, since it advertises Greece all over the world. In fact, he believes that with the connection of the primary sector and tourism, areas that are not at the top of the choices of foreign visitors will “come to life” and at the same time businesses that have a direct connection with the primary sector will be stimulated. In Grevena, he notes, there used to be 30 cheese dairies. Today only 4 operate, with all that implies for the local economy.

Mr. Safarikas also hopes that with the Traffic Signal his business will become more widely known and will be an attraction for those who want to get to know the cheese production cycle. Until today, schools are the ones that have visited this unit in Grevena, while it has also joined an online platform for the promotion and promotion of gastronomic tourism.

Olive mill in Crete attracts thousands of visitors

On the other side of Greece, in Crete and specifically in the village of Melidoni in the prefecture of Rethymno, the Paraskaki olive mill for more than 18 years is a place to be visited for the visitor who will want to learn the secrets of the olive tree. Thousands are the visitors who have visited this olive mill, emphasizes Joanna Paraskaki in APE-MPE. “We have been discovered by Trip Advisor” he says, among other things, and underlines the great interest of foreign visitors to discover and live experiences, as locals. In fact, the visitors state that they are excited about the oil production cycle, as from the production to the extraction of the oil from the olive mill it is done in a sustainable way without burdening the environment. Even the remains of the olive mill are composted and thrown to the olive trees as fertilizer.

Gastronomic tourism is developing slowly but steadily

“Nobody goes to Kozani to see how the Kozani saffron is produced, however they can do it if they are in the area”, notes Alexandros Megapanou, founder of the online platform www.gastronomytours.gr, in APE-MPE, which displays visitable companies and producers of Greek gastronomic products.

Mr. Megapanou explains that it is far from a business, an activity, to become a pole of attraction for visitors, surpassing in reputation even the destination itself. The French visitor will not go to Crete only for the visitors to visit Oinopoia, however he will come to Crete and will look for them, if it is in his field of interest.

“Gastronomic tourism is an experience that is growing significantly. It is developing slowly but steadily. Now visitors are looking for destinations and do not want to go where the mass of visitors go,” said Mr. Megapanou, among others.

Regarding the visitors who show a lively interest in the search for such experiences, the Americans stand out, followed by the Germans, the French and the Italians, according to Mr. Megapanou.

For Mr. Megapanou, the role of the Regions and the municipalities in the promotion of the areas that host such companies could become a catalyst.

Sofia Zacharaki: 17 million Euros will be allocated for the implementation of actions for the promotion and promotion of the special gastro-agrotourism network

At this point, the Deputy Minister of Tourism points out that the weight in the utilization of the funds that our country will receive through the Recovery and Resilience Fund is special. More than 17 million euros will be allocated for the implementation of actions for the promotion and promotion of the special gastro-agritourism network developed by the ministry and in which production units, which bear the Special Traffic Mark, will be able to participate.

“This project comes to complement and support in the best way the respective initiative of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, through which projects for the upgrading and modernization of infrastructure of Greek production units will be financed. This seals the recent memorandum of cooperation we signed with “Ministries of Environment and Energy, Rural Development and Food, and OFYPEKA for the protection and promotion of products and services produced or provided respectively in protected areas of the Natura 2000 network”, he states.

15 wineries acquired the Special Traffic Mark of the Ministry of Tourism in 2021

It is underlined that already last year, and despite the special conditions created by the pandemic, 15 wineries received the Special Traffic Signal of the ministry, with the project being warmly embraced by the country’s wineries, according to the Deputy Minister of Tourism.

In the meantime, as Mrs. Zacharaki emphasizes, all the means are activated for the promotion of Greek cuisine and wine. Both with the elaboration of the necessary studies for the upgrade of the Special Mark of Agrotourism and Visitable Wineries in order to optimize them and their effective shielding, as well as with more targeted actions, such as the Wine Tourism Voyage which was organized for the first time in Santorini and D . The targeted actions include the creation of a special portal for the promotion of Visitable Wineries and the Establishment of the first National Wine Tourism Council.

Source: AMPE