S. Zacharaki: A new era in the tourist relations between Greece and Saudi Arabia

The Greece-Saudi Arabia Business Forum, held March 12-14 in Riyadh, was a great success. The Greek delegation, led by the Minister of Development and Investment Adonis Georgiadis and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Costas Frangogiannis and the participation of the Deputy Ministers of Tourism Sofia Zacharakis and Development Giannis Tsakiris, as well as the General Secretaries of Tourism and Development Policy Smyrli and Private Investments and PPPs Orestis Kavalaki had the opportunity: a) to confirm the excellent level of Greek-Saudi relations, b) to promote specific initiatives to deepen these relations and c) to specialize at both governmental and business level steps of this promising collaboration.

It is characteristic that in addition to the many and productive contacts with government agencies of Saudi Arabia, 300 business meetings were held between Greek and Saudi companies, a number three times higher than expected.

A key pillar of the cooperation is the Tourism sector, in which both sides identified great opportunities for the immediate future. The Deputy Minister of Tourism Sofia Zacharaki, in the meetings with the Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb, with the participation of the Minister of Development Adonis Georgiadis and the Secretary General of Tourism Policy and Development Olympia Anastassopoulou, after expressing the satisfaction of Greece for the inauguration of new Santorini, insisted on the need to further increase them to more destinations, given the great identified interest of Saudi citizens for holidays in Greece. In this context, it was agreed that the issue of enlarging the air interface would be at the top of the implementation of bilateral cooperation in the immediate future.

Furthermore, the Deputy Minister of Tourism developed the data of the dynamic recovery of Greek Tourism in 2021, of the new large investments in tourism, but also of the already successful business collaborations of the two countries. On this basis, he stressed that now is the best opportunity for tourism investment, given that in 2022, despite the challenges, the indications are extremely positive for the development of tourism (increased bookings and reservations, faster opening of the high tourist season, increase of places of many airlines to Greece that exceed in 2019).

From the Saudi side, both the resilience of Greek Tourism in the pandemic crisis was recognized, as well as the leading role of Greece in the global tourism market.

During her presence at the Central Panel on Tourism, Ms. Zacharaki stressed the complementarity that exists between Greece and Saudi Arabia, both in terms of tourist seasons and in terms of the two countries’ perception of the high quality of holiday services, which the Greece can now offer even the most demanding traveler.

At the same time, Ms. Anastassopoulou underlined the progress that is being made in the field of tourist ports, mainly through the investments of the Recovery Fund and the many opportunities for further development that exist in this field through bilateral cooperation.

These perspectives were highlighted in the contacts that the Deputy Minister and the General Secretary had with Groups that have already successfully invested in the Greek hotel market, such as the Olayan group in cooperation with the Greek TEMES, whose leaders Ms. Lubna Olayan and Mr. Achilleas Konstantakopoulos will have a special position of responsibility in the new business council of the two countries. Furthermore, the contacts with local tourism entrepreneurs and influencers were particularly productive, where there was an agreement for an even more emphatic promotion of Greek destinations both in Saudi Arabia and in the Gulf countries.

The members of the Greek delegation had the opportunity to visit the Giga Project in the cultural theme park of AlUla, where the restaurant of Greek haute cuisine OKTO is located and to be informed about projects such as the Diriyah Gate Project that is being built in Riyadh.

The Deputy Minister of Tourism Sofia Zacharaki stated in this regard: “A new era in the relations between the two countries begins. Greece and Saudi Arabia already cooperate closely at all levels and from our contacts here the absolute priority of the tourism sector for both has emerged. Countries.

This year we will have new direct flights from Saudi Arabia to Greece and we are already looking for every opportunity to increase them even more to more destinations. We agreed to deepen our cooperation in areas such as tourism investment and tourism education, but also to focus on areas such as cruise and coastal tourism, sports tourism and wellness tourism, gastronomic and high end tourism. In this direction, a top development is the creation of the new Business Council of Greece-Saudi Arabia, with the key role of tourism entrepreneurship.

The excellent level of bilateral relations, the substantial reforms and high ambitions of Saudi Arabia for the future and, above all, the confidence in the dynamics of Greek Tourism and in Greece as a partner in general, form the basis of highly productive future synergies. This conclusion of both sides is the basis for even more intensive cooperation in the immediate future, in view of the forthcoming visit of the Saudi side to Greece.

Greece is the main gateway of Saudi Arabia to the European market, opening up huge opportunities for Greek Tourism. Opportunities that we are determined to make the most of. ”