V. Kikilias: We are optimistic that in 2022 tourism will play a leading role

“We are optimistic that in 2022 tourism will play a leading role”, stressed the Minister of Tourism Vassilis Kikilias in an interview with the newspaper “Paraskinio”, underlining the following: Indicatively, I would like to mention that in October 2021 we had 30% more bookings for the summer of 2022 than we had in October 2018 for the summer of 2019, before Covid. We are working hard, having as our compass that tourism development is a national affair, the Greek economy and Greek society need it, as it leads to the prosperity of the average Greek family “.

Regarding the goals and strategy of the ministry for 2022, Mr. Kikilias stressed that the strategic goal is to attract higher quality tourists. “The quality goal we place more emphasis on is reflected in the per capita expenditure of visitors, rather than in number. Our efforts to extend the tourist season hope to increase both revenue and the number of visitors, distributed more widely in the regions. “We are moving towards a more sustainable tourism model, which takes into account a number of factors related to environmental protection, the promotion of authenticity, the connection to the primary sector, the enhancement of the visitor experience.” , mentioned Mr. Kikilias.

In his intervention, Mr. Kikilias also referred to the bet on sustainable tourism, saying that actions have already started from the small islands, Halki and Astypalea, gradually moving to emblematic destinations, such as Rhodes. On Wednesday, the agreement with the TUI group for the establishment of the Co-Lab of the group in Rhodes, the first cooperation laboratory for the beneficial green and digital transformation of the entire chain of services related to tourism, was announced, announced, in the presence of the Prime Minister. The actions of RRF provide 320,000,000 euros, which will be our big vehicle in this new tourist model.

Finally, when asked if we are on a path of de-escalation of measures, Mr. Kikilias said that “every day is a difficult day for our health professionals, who have been fighting for two years for a huge battle for the protection of Public Health. If you wait to hear from me whether it will be in a week or a month, I will not do it.I have never done it during my entire tenure at the Ministry of Health for the last two years.Listening to the experts They are giving us the right scientific guidance to society, we are getting closer to the end of this huge adventure, but regardless of whether we are heading to the end of the pandemic, it is important to respect the hygiene and protection measures and use the gift of Science, which is the vaccine, “he added.