Minister of Tourism Vassilis Kikilias, who was visiting the World Travel Market (WTM) travel fair, was interviewed on the British TV network SKY News’ Breakfast show and said that in 2022 – so far more than 3 million Britons have visited Greece, while agreements and discussions with market players have lead to an increase in flights to Greece until the end of November.
“Greece is still a great destination for a weekend break during these months,” he said, pointing to the ministry’s “Greekend” campaign, which went viral last year and will also be the means of effectively promoting the country again this year.
The Tourism Minister toured the Greek kiosks at the fair and then held a working meeting with the heads of the TUI Group. During the meeting, it was announced that there would be an rise in the number of available flights to Greece for 2023 and an opening of new markets with even more destinations.
Furthermore, on the first day of the exhibition, Mr. Kikilias held a press conference on “Sustainability, the Future of Tourism” with the participation of TUI Group CEO Sebastian Ebel, Director Of Industry Relations of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) Susan Deer, South Aegean Regional Governor George Hadjimarkos, CommonSeas CEO Jo Royle and travel writer and digital nomad Kash Bhattacharya.
Mr.Kikilias stressed that for 2023 the targets are not limited to increasing revenue and average expenditure but to achieving the goal of sustainable tourism development. At the same time, he pointed out that “our collaboration with Google to accelerate the green and sustainable transformation of the Greek tourism sector has already brought tangible results with more than 2000 hoteliers being trained in sustainable practices and 500 hotels receiving accreditation in less than 6 months since we launched the programme”.
Regarding infrastructure, he stressed that the Ministry has already prioritized many projects that are being fast-tracked and will address water management, waste management and birth allocation. He also brought up the ‘eco islands’ project, highlighting initiatives on the islands of Halki, Astypalaia, and Symi and their push for energy autonomy using only renewable sources.
Read also:
Rhodes: the “crazy” bus driver that the locals love – watch the video
Nafplio, Greece: The app changing the travel experience
Average price for overnight hotel stay in Athens up in September
