The role of Tourism in the reconstruction of the Greek Economy

The 4th Greek Summit “Tourism, a National Case! Possibilities and Perspectives” was held with great success on December 7 in Athens, Greece. Leading representatives of the government and the opposition parties, members of the political leadership, as well as academics and leading market executives contributed to the Conference, exploring the role of Tourism in the reconstruction of the Greek Economy.

In an interview with the editor and director of Realnews, Nikos Hatzinikolaou, the Minister of Tourism, Vassilis Kikilias, stressed that the tourism industry outperformed the national target this year in Greece. As he explained, the target included in the 2022 national budget was for the industry to reach 80% of the 2019 performance. “Despite the war that broke out in Ukraine, the double-digit inflation and the energy crisis, we managed not only to reach, but even to exceed the target by 3 billion euros”, stated Mr. Kikilias.

Τhe US ambassador based in Athens, George Tsounis, gave credit to the Minister of Tourism for this outperformance, characterizing it “impressive”. For his part, Israel's ambassador in Athens Noam Katz focused on the strong investment interest recorded for Greece and on the possibilities of synergies in matters of sustainable tourism, sustainability, and green development between the two countries.

The Secretary General of the Hellenic Tourism Organization (EOT) Dimitris Fragakis described the current year as the new milestone for Greek tourism. As he explained, 2022 will be the new year of records for Greek tourism not only because in terms of revenue it will reach and possibly surpass 2019, but because within two years Greek tourism managed to recover from the absolute “zero point” in March 2020. In the last three years, he said, EOT has been investing in four axes of experiential tourism: gastronomy, sports tourism, outdoor activities and wellness, which is linked to medical tourism.

The importance of alternative forms of tourism for sustainable tourism development was highlighted, among others, by the MEP of SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance, Elena Kountoura, focusing on the important access problem faced by small and medium-sized enterprises today, in terms of financial programs/ tools and bank lending. The Governor of Attica, Giorgos Patoulis, referred to the Attica's potential for becoming a leading sustainable destination in Europe, as well as the actions taken by the Region to develop a “global health village”, which will attract travelers throughout the year.

Finally, the Secretary General for International Economic Affairs & the president of Enterprise Greece, Yannis Smyrlis, referred to the government's goal to make Greece a best case for sustainable tourism, to improve its image and to further upgrade the country's brand. As he pointed out, strategic investments in the tourism sector come to upgrade the tourist product and create an ecosystem with benefits for the wider region.

The Conference was organized by the companies Next is Now and Dome Consulting and was held under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Tourism, the Greek National Tourism Organization, and the Region of Attica.