New Tourism Minister Meets Representatives

Newly-appointed Tourism Development Minister Aris Spiliotopoulos recently met with representatives from various sectors of the tourism industry. The meeting was to discuss key concerns of all the representatives, which arose from the devastation caused by the recent fires to several tourist destinations throughout Greece.

The representatives aimed to express a uniform request to the tourism development minister for more “drastic measures and state support so as to overcome the damage caused by the fires and cement the development of the tourism sector despite the consequences of the recent devastation.”

They also expressed the need to “re-direct tourism policy so as to magnify its potential on the same par as economic policy.”

Following the meeting, Mr. Spiliotopoulos claimed this was “a meeting with substance that showed from all sides -from the tourism sector as well as from political leadership- that there is a mutual mood of cooperation and exchange of ideas.”

He added: “Most importantly, there is a general consensus for the need to improve the quality of services offered and increase the financial shares of the sector itself.”

He concluded in his address that as far as the political leadership and the tourism development ministry are concerned, “tourism is one of the most important generators of revenue, Greece’s identity and the future of Greece itself.”

The meeting included representatives from the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, The Panhellenic Hoteliers Federation, the Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies, the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises, the Panhellenic Federation of Tourism Enterprises, the Hellenic Federation of Rented Apartments and Rooms, the Hellenic Association of Professional Congress Organizers and the Union of Tourist Bus Transportation.