Dimitrios Mantousis

President,
Macedonia-Thrace Travel Agencies Association

Philoxenia 2006 greeting.

It is anticipated that Greece will host about 20 million tourists annually by 2012. This forecast is  based on the current tourism policy and the positive turning point in tourism arrivals in the past ten years. The tourism environment has changed today and the success of new destinations has resulted in new requirements, expansion of the tourism market, and new opportunities from new forms of tourism.

Greece needs a new model for tourism development  that focuses on quality and service, reducing costs to make our product more competitive, and specialization of personnel in the industry. With the government’s assistance, strategies for tourism development to make our region a gateway for tourists from new EU countries, include simplifying visa procedures, modernizing and staffing border stations, developing alternative forms of tourism, and advertising our region.