Additional Tourism Promotion Funds for Prefectures

Greece’s prefectures get 30% more than last year in funds for tourism promotion from the Hellenic Tourism Organization. Deputy Tourism Minister Anastassios Liaskos told reporters last month that the funds allocated this year amount to 4.5 million euros, against the three million awarded to prefecture tourism committees last year.

Mr. Liaskos, during the meeting held last month at the tourism ministry offices with the country’s prefects, and the heads of prefecture tourism committees, said that this year’s promotion efforts must be more concentrated than those of previous years.

He asked the prefectures to work closely with the ministry so as any action plan envisioned would be in tune with the general promotional idea. He said he would like to see the ministry’s general advertising scheme being linked with the promotional campaign of the prefecture tourism committees, thus forming a unified and operational whole.

The focal point of the meeting was the effective promotion of the periphery during the post-Olympic period. It was agreed that a unified marketing plan should be pursued as part of the promotional scheme planned and implemented by the ministry of tourism through the offices of the Hellenic Tourism Organization.

Mr. Liaskos also announced the ministry would create information and visitors’ offices in every prefecture beginning with the most tourism popular prefectures. He then asked the prefects to remind all their municipality heads of the importance of tourism to their area’s general economy.

Among the 52 prefectures, those hosting Olympic events are expected to receive the greatest portion of the grant; namely Ileia (395,000 euros), Thessaloniki (305,000 euros), Heraklion (247,000 euros) and Attica (260,000). Achaia and Magnisia are to get 65,000 and 100,000 euros respectively.

Separately, the deputy minister filed a complaint with the country’s district attorney’s office late last month against the manager of his political office staff. His manager apparently had asked a businessman for a bride in order to speed up an application.