Report Reveals GNTO Tourism Scam

The “Tourism for All” program failed to achieve the desired results in the effort to develop the country’s domestic tourism, according to the final report of the Inspectors-Controllers Body for Public Administration in regards to the materialization of the 2006-2009 state-subsidized social tourism program.

According to the report, the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) was charged some 5.5 million euros as a result of a scam that involved the issuing of thousands of extra vouchers for the “Tourism for All” program for the years 2006, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009.

Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos sent the final report to the Athens Court of Appeals Prosecutor as it implicated nine officials and employees of the GNTO for the overissuing of vouchers and costing the state millions of euros.

In 2006, more than 22,900 social tourism vouchers were issued, instead of the 2,000 foreseen by the program. The extra vouchers ran up a bill of some 1.75 million euros at the organization’s expense.

In addition, the investigator’s report said that phony vouchers by hotels were also issued, for which the organization’s services seemed to have turned a blind eye.