Aris Spiliotopoulos

Tourism Development Minister

Philoxenia 2008 greeting.

For many decades now, Greece has been a tourist country par excellence, famed for its countless natural beauties and its cultural wealth. With unique landscapes, history and monuments, traditional settlements, customs, local products and traditions, our country, beyond any doubt, holds a great comparative advantage in the global tourist market.

Tourism, on a global level, is an ever-developing activity. The environment of tourism is constantly evolving, creating new destinations and new services that compete for substantial shares in the market, thus forcing traditional destinations to diversify. The battle for a better position in the global tourist market is becoming more and more intense. And this battle requires that the tourist product is constantly upgraded, broadened and diversified.

In that context, we are attempting to turn Greek tourism. Towards quality, not only in our services and tourist infrastructures, but also in our communications, our mentality, and in terms of the visitors we attract. We are turning towards developing new forms of tourist activity, through which we will succeed in achieving the great objective -lengthening the tourist season and enhancing our tourist product. Nautical tourism, Cultural tourism, Countryside tourism, Touring tourism, Health & Wellness tourism, Conference tourism, Luxury tourism, City Breaks tourism and Seaside tourism are all available to our country’s potential visitors. Our aim is to make sure our country stays among the top tourist destinations worldwide, while preserving its identity and idiosyncrasy- the things that make it stand out.

Our aim is to make sure our country stays among the top tourist destinations worldwide.

Tourism is a national priority for our country. It is the vanguard of the Greek economy. It is our great chance and an exhilarating and interesting challenge. In order to give our best response to this challenge, we need the support of all social partners. We want to work in partnership with the business world and its employees. We seek to build relationships of honesty and trust.

Greek tourism is adapting fast and successfully to a world that evolves rapidly, to an era when people move around more and more. I believe we can meet this great challenge of our times.