Structural Changes Planned For The Hellenic Tourism Organization

The executive infrastructure of the Hellenic Tourism Organization changes this month, according to recent statements by Development Minister Nikos Christodoulakis. Basic changes expected include the placement of a tourism secretariat under the development ministry. The new tourism secretary will replace the position of secretary general, and most in the sector see this as the first step in re-introducing a tourism ministry.

Initial plans call for the new tourism secretariat to control all regional tourism offices and the country’s casinos, and to implement the government’s general tourism policies.

Only two directorates, that of development and marketing, will survive the restructuring.

The job of the development directorate will be to analyze and record the tourism market’s general performance. At the same time, it will guide investors and lay out guidelines for new tourism investment projects. In addition, the directorate will keep a close eye on the quality of tourism services offered in general and will promote new forms of tourism.

The marketing directorate’s major task will be to implement the government’s tourism promotion campaigns at both home and abroad. Along the same lines, the directorate will implement an on-going market research program, particularly within markets outside of Greece’s borders.

A presidential decree to legalize all of the above is expected sometime this month (September). Minister Christodoulakis told tourism organization executives and employees that most likely the present secretary general, Evgenios Yiannakopoulos, will be named the ministry’s tourism secretary but that this must depends on legislative approval. He also mentioned that the organization would no longer issue tourism enterprise permits for their legal operation. Instead, the job will be turned over to the country’s prefectures.

These changes are in addition to the recent turning over of the organization’s plethora of properties, worth some 2.7 trillion drachmas, to the newly formed state-owned company, Hellenic Tourism Properties. Already, said Mr. Christodoulakis, the organization has tendered an international call for bids for an economic advisor, which will manage the properties. The new advisory company also is expected to ready the company for a listing on the Athens Stock Exchange. The company will be a public, multi-stockholder venture.