Olga Kefalogianni, Tourism Minister

Philoxenia 2012 greeting.

Greek tourism is currently in a phase of creative reconstruction, which is steadily supported by the independent Tourism Ministry that has been reestablished by the Greek Government to give sovereignty to this administrative sector of the economy.

At present and on this basis, we operate promptly and on many levels with the aim to enhance the level of offered services, develop the thematic tourism sections and showcase our competitive advantages, so we can finally claim a bigger share of the international market and give Greek tourism a steady position among the top places of the world rankings.

Through specific actions and initiatives, our aim is to promote the country’s tourism wealth and magnificence by giving an incentive to all, old and new, creative forces of tourism to take the lead, create and develop. We focus and move towards this direction so they are structured properly and so that all forms of tourism that will mark the beginning of a new era in Greek tourism are developed simultaneously.

We can and want to offer better services in an environment of international competition, where the quality-price relationship is the great challenge and the main issue on an international level. This is a challenge we can win in collaboration with tourism stakeholders.

I consider our growth a national cause and that is how we face it. With the cooperation of the relevant ministries, we are creatively trying to lift obstacles, change structures and create another environment that will include the requirements to gain a place in global growth.

We support investments in tourism and are restructuring our policy by strengthening infrastructure for tourism development, creating a broad institutional framework for the development of new tourism products and ensuring the establishment of a friendly framework to support business projects related to tourism. Golf, sea tourism, medical, conference, and other forms of tourism are already among our priorities. A zoning plan for tourism, tourist homes and infrastructure are also areas we are already focusing on.

All are components of the policy we are currently applying under the agreed fact that tourism is a pillar of the national economy and can be a catalyst to achieving development, since its development has multiple effects on a broad range of other sectors.