SETE Conference To Focus On Necessary Investments For Greek Tourism

The results of the latest study on Greek tourism, prepared by McKinsey & Company, will be presented at the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises’ (SETE) 12th Tourism & Development Conference that will take place 21-22 October 2013 at the Athenaeum Intercontinental Hotel in Athens.

According to the study “Tourism Strategic Planning 2021: The Implementation Roadmap,” nearly 3.3 billion euros must be invested in Greek tourism annually for the next eight years for annual tourist arrivals in 2021 to exceed 24 million in number with a per capita expenditure of 750-800 euros and a total of 31-33 billion euros in direct revenue. “By achieving these objectives, Greek tourism will contribute some 20 percent to the country’s GDP,” SETE said in an announcement.

The McKinsey study will reveal six key product categories, referred to as “the competitive advantages of Greek tourism” and also list ancillary products and services that are essential to the achievement of the mentioned objectives.

As the study shows, Greek tourism must be supported with private investments of some 22 billion euros. On its part, the Greek State is called to contribute with funds from the NSRF 2014-2021 program.

The study has recorded 70 percent of the investments needed to boost Greek tourism. These investments mainly concern the field of infrastructure (accommodation, transport and support functions) and the development of regional products.

12th Tourism & Development Conference

The Greek ministers of Finance, Yiannis Stournaras; Development and Competitiveness, Kostis Hadjidakis; and Tourism, Olga Kefalogianni, will greet SETE’s 12th Tourism & Development Conference.

The list of speakers includes Anastasios Liaskos, general secretary for tourism; Eftichios Vassilakis, vice president of Aegean Airlines; Constantinos Vousvounis, Eurobank general manager, member of the executive board and management committee; George Tsopelas, managing director of McKinsey & Company Greece; Panos Paleologos, president and CEO of HotelBrain; Iosif Parsalis, managing director of Marketing Greece; Christos Stergiou, president and CEO of TrueGreece; and Andreas Andreadis, president of SETE.

The “Tourism & Development” conferences are established interventions of SETE to open discussions and create public dialogue on tourism and are aimed towards investors, entrepreneurs, senior business executives and public sector officials who aspire to have an active role in the development of Greek tourism.

SETE’s 12th Tourism & Development Conference is supported by the companies: AEGEAN, Eurobank, Mercedes-Benz, INTERAMERICAN, Goldair, Noisis, Ecolab and Athenaeum Intercontinental.

GTP is among the main media sponsors of the conference.