Closer Tourism Cooperation Sought Between Russia and Greece

On his recent trip to Russia for the MITT 2004 tourism fair, Tourism Deputy Minister Anastassios Liaskos sought an increase in Greek-Russia tourism cooperation to confront the problems Russian visitors have to acquire the needed visas to vacation in Greece. He said he would promote immediate actions to simplify the procedure.

Last year, some 140,000 Russian tourists visited Greece, which was a 2% increase in last year’s arrival numbers.

After discussions during the fair with Russian tourism leaders from both the private and public sector, Mr. Liaskos said he expected to see another increase in arrivals, especially since Greece holds the 2004 Games.

The Hellenic Tourism Organization participated in the MITT fair with a 700-meter stand that hosted 49 Greek exhibitors and said that interest in Greek destinations was very strong. This year was the eleventh one in a row where the organization participated in the fair.