Our goal is to extend the tourism model to all destinations. “We aspire to have tourists – something that translates into income for the average Greek family – by November and December”, pointed out the Minister of Tourism Vassilis Kikilias in the interview he gave to the show “MEGA Weekend”.
The Minister of Tourism referred to the very positive – as he characterized them – messages from the bookings and arrivals of the first tourists in our country, citing as an example the promising data he received during his recent trip to Romania, which is the first country in road tourism in Europe.
“More than 1.5 million travelers are expected, only from Romania, mainly in Northern Greece: Thassos Kavala, Pieria and of course Halkidiki. As mentioned by the travel agents I met in Bucharest, Greece is the number” one ” “This week, I will be in Serbia, continuing the door-to-door strategy to fill any gaps in the admittedly small percentage of Russian visitors we have had in northern Greece,” he said, announcing a series of on-site visits. and in domestic tourist destinations, in order – as he said – to have a personal image.
“My concern and my constant thought is how the income from the tourism and the foreign exchange end up directly in the Greek, in the small Greek family business. In the one who gives his products to the Greek tourism, to the trade, to the shopkeepers, to the farmer , to the employees “, underlined Mr. Kikilias.
Referring to the messages from Easter and May Day, the Minister of Tourism spoke of “impressive” data. “Indicatively, the fullness in Thassos was at 90% and in Chalkida at 100%” he stressed to add: “Personally, I generally do not make forecasts. And I will not make this year for tourism either.” Fund “we will do at the end of 2022 “It is important, however, that we see an increase in both the average length of stay of visitors in our country and the money left by tourists.”
The Minister of Tourism referred to the methodical preparation that preceded the winter and the strategy followed, with the opening of new tourist destinations, but also to the fruits that are now visible from the country’s extroversion effort. “We are facing all crises – both as a Government and as a society and as a country – thirty-three months now, with prudence and efficiency. The pandemic and the way we dealt with it, especially in its first waves, led to a rebranding of the country abroad and It was a huge success for the Prime Minister and all those involved in the country’s extroversion effort, which “returns” this year with half a million passengers on direct flights from the US to “Eleftherios Venizelos”. Already in Attica – where “It corresponds to half of the country’s GDP – the businessmen of the area inform me that so many tourists from the USA, for the month of April, we had many decades to see in the center of Athens”, he stated characteristically.
Referring to the employees in the tourism sector, Mr. Kikilias stressed the importance of the significant intervention of the Government with the recent increase of the minimum wage and called on the local entrepreneurs to respect – as he said – their employees. “I do not want to offend the vast majority of tourism professionals and landlords,” he said. Therefore, I strongly recommend entrepreneurs to give better paid jobs and quality jobs. I recognize that most professionals in the industry are excellent, but for those who are not right, there will be checks and penalties. and gentlemen who own the hotel companies, you will respect the employees in Greek tourism “.
Mr. Kikilias also spoke about the new social tourism program – amounting to 30 million euros – which will “run” from July 1. “The program was agreed upon during the Prime Minister’s visit to the Ministry of Tourism, ten days ago. constantly -as we owe- energy, they should also be helped to be able to take the children and their families and visit an island or continental destination, in our beautiful country. “euros this year to be allocated, without bureaucratic procedures, for Greeks who can not or do not have the opportunity to go on vacation.”
As the Minister of Tourism pointed out, the process will be like the “free pass” and the voucher for the beneficiaries will be valid for the whole year, so that it can be used, whenever the beneficiary wishes, without restrictions. “We are ‘Next to the citizen’ -as is the central motto of our 14th Congress- and we prove it in every crisis with the support we give to the Greek worker and to the most vulnerable”, said Mr. Kikilias.
Finally, the Minister of Tourism regarding the possibility of power outages in tourist destinations due to the energy crisis, stressed that there is an assurance from the Presidency of the Government, the Ministry of Energy, HEDNO and all relevant authorities that tourist destinations , energy, in any case. “We do not play with these things. Prevention is superior to cure,” concluded Mr. Kikilias.
Source: Capital
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