S. Zacharaki from Yerevan: The evolution of Greek tourism is dynamic this year

The extremely encouraging prospects for the recovery of Greek tourism this year were presented by the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Zofia Zacharaki, from Yerevan, Armenia, in the context of the 67th Meeting of the European Commission of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), chaired by our country.

Ms Zacharaki, who visited Yerevan on 2 and 3 June, chaired the Commission meeting. During the discussion, special reference was made to the great challenges facing tourism internationally and especially in the geographical area of ​​Europe, while it was unanimously decided that the next meeting of the committee would be held in Bulgaria.

The meeting was also attended by the Secretary General of the WTO Zurab Pololikashvili and the Director of the European Commission Alessandra Priante, who, in turn, gave a brief overview of global tourism flows for the past year, while prefacing the forthcoming actions of the POT for 2022.

At the same time, the Deputy Minister of Tourism participated in the special meeting concerning Rural and Regional Tourism Development, emphasizing the targeted actions of the Ministry of Tourism and the Greek Government, as a whole, in this field.

The Undersecretary of Tourism also met with representatives of the state investment body “Enterprise Armenia”, as well as with major tour operators in the country who organize tourist packages for many destinations in Greece. and, in fact, may exceed pre-pandemic levels.

As part of the work of the 67th European Commission of the WHO, Ms. Zacharaki also visited the Armeno-Greek Tourism Center, the monument of the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan where she paid tribute to the memory of the 1.5 million victims – as well as the museum dedicated to to the Armenians, who lost their lives during the period of the Armenian Genocide. In addition, he met with the representative of the Greek community in Armenia and president of the Union of Greek Communities of Armenia, Mrs. Maria Lazareva.

The Greek delegation also held bilateral contacts with member states of the Commission. The mission was attended by Ms. Giola Dionysopoulou, General Director of Tourism Policy and Mr. George Kakoutis, Head of Department of the Ministry of Tourism.

The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Sofia Zacharaki, stated: “We have just completed our visit to Armenia, in the context of the 67th Meeting of the European Commission of the WHO. Representing our country – which holds the presidency of the Commission – I had the opportunity to emphasize to our partners the Impressive recovery of Greek tourism in 2021 and its even more dynamic development for 2022. We exchanged thoughts and ideas on how we can meet the great and common challenges in terms of employment, education, sustainability, but also public-private partnerships.

In the special discussion on Regional Tourism Development, we emphasized the role of alternative forms of tourism, in order to obtain a better quality, balanced and sustainable tourism product. In this context, we noted the great success of the inclusion of Soufli in the “Best Tourism Villages”, as well as Western Samos in the upgrade program.

At the same time, we analyzed the new initiatives of the Ministry of Tourism for the new brands of Visitable Brewery, Dairy and Olive Mill that we institute, the synergies we develop with the Ministry of Rural Development for agritourism, the importance that our Government gives to the primary sector. that of young farmers- as well as all the important infrastructure projects that facilitate regional development.

Together with the General Manager Dr. P. Dionysopoulou, we had the opportunity for productive bilateral meetings with delegations of our partners from France, Portugal, Spain and Bulgaria, in which we discussed our cooperation on a number of issues, as well as their participation in the Center for Coastal Research and Maritime Tourism of the POT for the Mediterranean, which will be based in Athens. In addition, in our talks with the main tour operators of Armenia for the Greek market, we came up with specific actions to strengthen the already dynamic flow of tourism from Armenia to our country.

Finally, the visit to the Monument of the Armenian Genocide, as well as to the Armenian-Greek Tourism Center of Yerevan, where students of the school who teach the Greek language recited lyrics by Greek poets and danced traditional Greek songs, was particularly moving for me. and Armenian dances.

Greeks and Armenians are connected by fraternal and historical ties, which were strengthened through common experiences and tragic trials at the beginning of the 20th century.

Today, these ties are stronger than ever, thanks to the work of institutions such as the Armenian-Greek Tourism Center, which spreads the radiance of Hellenism and Greek tourism in the friendly country of Armenia.

As far as we are concerned, we will do everything in our power to support the Center and to strengthen its vital work. “I would like to thank the Embassy of Greece in Armenia for the significant support in organizing the program and preparing the meetings.”