First National Council for Travel Agencies

Yiannis Evangelou, president of the Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies, announced that for the first time national and regional tourism councils are being established. The new councils will enable the association to have a significant presence within all the municipalities and regions of the country through a pan-Hellenic network of elected members, as well as representation in local and national tourism authorities.

The national council is envisioned as a body capable of unifying regional and local trade unions and associations to guide the industry’s future and to actively participate in all tourism initiatives.

The national council, comprised of elected regional and municipal representatives and the association’s board of directors, will meet two or three times a year at the beginning and end of the tourism season. The council will promote every region’s tourism development potential, and submit proposals to the competent ministry and local authorities. The articles of association for the new national council were approved and members of the executive secretariat were elected at the association’s recent regional elections. The council’s first meeting is scheduled for the end of this month.

The members elected to the regional council will meet once a month to discuss issues in general and any extraordinary events requiring immediate attention. The regional council will resolve problems alone or in collaboration with the association’s board of directors.