Greece Approaches India’s Market

“The Indian market right now is untouched but it’s a tourism source for our country that has significant potential,” according to Maya Tsokli, Member of the Greek Parliament, in charge of PASOK’s parliament group on tourism.

Ms. Tsokli traveled to India in late March to promote the actions of the Culture and Tourism Ministry and presented Greece’s “many-sided tourism product” to boost tourism cooperation between the two countries.

During her stay, she met with major tour operators in India and was informed that the main problem in relation to the low traffic of Indian visitors to Greece was that consumers and Indian tourism professionals were simply not aware of the Greek tourism product.

Discussions also focused on the lengthy process of the issuing of visas to Greece and the absence of a direct air connection between Greece and India.

According to the Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies, Greece welcomed only 10,000 visitors from India last year.

Research by the United Nations World Tourism Organization said that by 2020 India is expected to “export” 50 million visitors and tourist expenditure of $28 billion worldwide.

The majority of Indian travelers prefer to travel April-June and October-December.