“Golden” summer for Greek tourism

Greece’s presence at the International Tourism Exhibition ITB was recognized as very ambitious, with a focus on new forms of tourism throughout the year.

With modern and “fresh” images of destinations unknown to the average citizen abroad, from Samothraki and Tsoumerka to Lake Plastira, attractive travel packages, and the promotion of classic favorite destinations such as Crete, Greece is once again taking part in the International Tourism Fair in Berlin.

After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, ITB is returning to the tourism market by opening its doors to the industry this year. It is the largest exhibition of its kind in the world, which has acquired its own “brand name” and offers fantastic opportunities for contacts and new agreements with tour operators, airlines and other representatives of German and international tourism.

With 75 representatives from a wide variety of tourism sectors (which represents 25% of Greece’s GDP), the large-scale and interactive Greek pavilion, enriched with multimedia, is one of the busiest and most talked about venues of this year’s ITB, reflecting the seriousness of the efforts of the Greek tourism sector. Greece consistently ranks high on the tourist map. The news about Greek tourism in Berlin is extremely encouraging and promising.

“Greece expects this year an increase of 10% compared to 2022, based on the reservations made so far, provided, of course, that there are no extraordinary events that could cancel the plan,” said the Secretary General for Tourism Policy and Development Olympia Anastasopoulou.

As shown by this year’s ITB, Greece is firmly among the top five destinations in Europe. According to Olimpia Anastasopoulou, this is actually the “number 1” destination for tourism investment in Europe, 8 out of 10 tourism investments in Europe are made in Greece.

Hellas, with its new tourism strategy, is now focusing on the temporal and spatial extension of the tourist season to twelve months, not only on the well-known islands, but throughout the country.

“Greece is not only Mykonos and the Cyclades, it is its inner part, the Peloponnese, northern Greece, Ionia,” says the specialist. In fact, now the emphasis is on the development of new forms of tourism, such as senior citizen tourism, medical tourism or digital nomad attractionby providing a range of incentives. It is worth noting that Greece traditionally pays special attention to the German tourist public, and in this light, Ms. Anastasopoulou, representing the Minister of Tourism Vassilis Kikilias, who did not come to Berlin, met with the German coordinator of the maritime economy and tourism, Dieter Janecek, highlighting the issues of environmentally friendly tourism and sustainable development.

Olympia Anastasopoulou expressed deep regret over the train accident, but as she noted, “we are here to work in tourism,” a sector that is “a source of joy and optimism” for Greece. “The state took responsibility for Tepmi and has already taken appropriate actions so that this does not happen again in the future, and that the responsibility is placed on the perpetrators in full,” she answered DW. The official stressed that “the image of the country will not be tarnished” because Greece has “an excellent level of tourism services.”

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