Greek Tourism Ministry Teams Up With Church of Crete To Promote Religious Tourism

Religious tourism in Greece will undergo further development through a cooperation protocol signed recently between the Greek Tourism Ministry and the Church of Crete.

The protocol was signed by Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni and His Eminence Metropolitan of Petra and Herronissos Mr. Nektarios and focuses on the cooperation between both sides to highlight, display, promote awareness and the ability to visit the country’s holy sites, areas of religious interest and shrines.

The new cooperation between the tourism ministry and the Church of Crete aims to attract tourists to Greece’s holy sites, boost foreign visitor arrivals, extend the season and also improve the Greek tourism product.

Under the Protocol, an action plan will be drawn from both sides to promote places of worship in Greece, attract and develop religious-oriented travel packages, improve the overall image of tourism in the country and provide the best service to guests.

On the ministry’s side, the secretary general of tourism, Anastasios Liaskos, will head a special committee put together to ensure the implementation of the cooperation protocol. The committee will promote actions that include the construction of infrastructure to facilitate access to the places of religious interest, training programs, promotion of pilgrimage tourism on a national level and the planning of joint actions.