As it is sung in the famous song of Vysotsky, “only mountains can be better than mountains, which have not yet been visited.” Probably, at least once in our life, each of us should have rest in a mountain chalet among the wild nature in order to understand why you live.
Strengthening and using mountain tourism destinations became the focus of the 1st Working Meeting of the Presidents of the Hotel Associations – members of the mountainous mainland Greece, which took place in Ioannina.
The event was attended by the Governor of Epirus and mayors of the region, Speaker of the Parliament Kostas Tassoulas, Deputy Minister of Tourism Sofia Zakharaki, MPs and EOT Secretary General Dimitris Fraggakis.
Deputy Minister of Tourism Sofia Zakharaki stressed: “We are strengthening and supporting the initiative of the Association of Mountain Hotel Owners. We join forces, we want to climb higher, like our high mountains. “
Ms Zakharaki noted that the Ministry of Tourism “sees” Greece as a single tourist destination, and the goal of the workers in this sector is to equally develop all the multidimensional component that the country has to offer.
Along with the sun and the sea, guests of Greece should have more reasons to repeat their visit. For example then to get to know the Greek mountains, which are largely unexplored.
The cooperation of the ministries of tourism and the environment plays an important role, with funding from the Fund for the restoration of slopes, ski resorts and alpine shelters for climbers.
In the new bill, according to the Deputy Minister, there are new provisions that together will help to strengthen mountain tourism, combined with support for gastronomic tourism, as well as sports and educational areas.
“Tourism is a human being and we want to invest in it,” said Ms Zakharaki.
Deputy Environment Minister George Amiras stressed that the Ministries of Tourism and Environment have decided to join forces to expand and finance agritourism activities that will attract tourists, foreigners and Greeks, to the mountains, giving a new impetus to the local economy. The expert mentioned that there are real and incomparable advantages in our country, from skiing to relaxing at sea.
“The Ministry of the Environment attaches great importance to the” green environment “of local communities in order to use their potential, landscapes, local products. So that everyone feels that what they are doing has a special value. as we said. The environment and tourism should be “in the same ranks” that will only benefit everyone, ”said Mr. Amiras.
EOT Secretary General Dimitris Fraggakis stressed that “all the work done in the last 8 months at EOT shows that something has started to change in the way we treat the Greek tourism product”, and noted: “We have a three-year strategy. the center of which is Greek tourism. Greece is not a place to relax in the sun and the sea, it is a comprehensive destination all year round in all regions. For us, the whole country is a potential tourist destination and, of course, the mountainous continental regions are an exclusive and integral part of Greek tourism. “
Grigoris Tassios, President of the Panhellenic Federation of Hoteliers, said that hoteliers in the mountainous mainland of Greece are a team that faces challenges and wants to be the protagonist in 365 days.
During the first working meeting, the experts discussed the promotion and new legislative initiatives in relation to education and training, for example, for mountain guides, regarding environmental issues and the development of new walking routes.
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