V. Kikilias: Greece had proven to be a safe destination for tourism, even before the vaccines

Optimistic that Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia and Greece will overcome the difficult, due to health conditions, current season, said tonight, during his visit to the pavilion of the central Municipality of Philoxenia, the Minister of Tourism, Vassilis Kikilias, pointing out that he can to further strengthen “25% of the Greek economy, which is tourism, as from the people of tourism comes directly or indirectly one in four euros for the Greek economy”.

Asked about the incoming tourism from the Balkans, which is an important part of the “pie” of arrivals for Northern Greece, but their population has low vaccination rates, and asked to comment on whether this can discourage visitors from other regions, the minister said. that the country has proven to be a safe destination, “which means that we adhere to and must adhere to health protocols and have a way of hosting the visitor. We proved this even before the vaccinations, the first summer of quarantine.”

Mr. Kikilias urged the Balkan visitors “to be vaccinated, to follow the procedures and to be tested” and underlined that he considers that the professionals of Thessaloniki have all this time shown a very high level of professionalism in the way they managed this very hard time.

The minister also described as very special and special the distinction that Thessaloniki recently received, through its promotion as a member of the network of gastronomic cities of UNESCO and added that the region has all the backgrounds to become a destination of four seasons. “Thessaloniki, like all of Macedonia, is a crossroads of peoples and cultures, it is a city and a municipality worth visiting. We invite travelers from all over the world to come here, through the beautiful airport and the excellent port or through “to see the beauties, to taste our excellent flavors and our very special wines, to shop, to live the night life, to walk the paths of our religious tourism, to live a unique experience and for that to come back” he noted and added: “We know a way (to achieve the goals), work, and then work and work again.”

For his part, the mayor of Thessaloniki, Konstantinos Zervas, stated that this year’s participation of the central Municipality in Philoxenia coincides with a very important event and a positive development, the recognition of Thessaloniki by UNESCO as a gastronomic creative destination: “What we all knew “For the gastronomy of our city, it was recognized by such an important organization, but this is just the beginning. It takes a lot of work and joining forces with the producers, creators and actors of the city.” The mayor pointed out that the UNESCO logo, which Thessaloniki now has the opportunity to use in every exhibition in Greece and abroad, is a symbol for the city and increases its international recognition.

SOURCE: AMPE