Olga Kefalogianni On Greek Tourism, Bloomberg TV

Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni

“Tourism has shown to be the most resilient of all the economic factors in Greece,” Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni recently told Bloomberg Television during her visit to New York, US.

The tourism minister participated in a roundtable discussion on Bloomberg TV with Yanos Gramatidis, president of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, and Socrates Lazaridis, Athens Stock Exchange chairman, in regards to Greece’s austerity efforts and the impact on the nation’s population, markets, economy and tourism industry.

During the discussion, Mrs. Kefalogianni underlined that the Tourism Ministry is currently facing a great challenge to boost arrivals and attract tourism investments.

Bloomberg’s Trish Regan pointed out to Mrs. Kefalogianni that since Greece is considered a costly destination for Americans because “the euro is so expensive compared to the dollar.”

“Greece right now offers great value for money and I think whoever visited could actually confess to that, “ the tourism minister said.

Mrs. Kefalogianni recently visited New York to give a speech at the 1st Greek Investment Forum “Greece under Reform: Creating Growth-Revealing Opportunities” held 9-11 October at Bloomberg’s headquarters. During her stay she held a series of meetings with key figures to promote the Greek tourism product to Greece.

“For many years the US was a forgotten market for Greek tourism,” the tourism minister said yesterday, 13 October, to Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA) while referring, to her recent meetings in New York.

However, according to the minister, there is a great potential and already new perceptions are forming.

In regards to the lack of adequate direct flights between the US and Greece, another “obstacle” that is believed to keep American tourists from visiting the country, Mrs. Kefalogianni appeared optimistic and told the news agency that “there may be good news” in regards to the issue. However, she didn’t comment further.

(It is reminded that as of 26 October 2012, Delta Airlines will suspend its direct New York-Athens flight. This development will allow travel to US from Greece only via connection with other airports in Europe.)

According to AMNA, the tourism minister is expected to visit the US again in December to strengthen cooperation with companies and professionals that promote Greek tourism.