Minister Requests E.U. Help On Visa Issue

The Schengen treaty constrains Greek tourism and particularly Greece’s “soon to be” biggest markets such as Russia, China, India and Turkey, Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos told the group of Socialist European Parliament deputies in Athens in late March.

The culture and tourism minister focused highly on the cooperation needed from the European Union to enable a more flexible and simple procedure for issuing a visa for travelers from countries that are extremely important markets for Greece and to the development of tourism.

In reference to “the hundreds of thousands of immigrants in the E.U. that do not hold a visa, Mr. Geroulanos said those who take the legal path to obtain a visa should not be punished through annoying bureaucratic procedures.

On the same subject, during the minister’s recent visit to Moscow, he told the press that Greece was working to remove obstacles so that trips from Turkey to Greece become easier. Mr. Geroulanos had added that efforts were being made so Russian tourists visiting Turkey could also visit Greece with a one-day valid visa.