Plan For New “Ski Week” Holiday For Greek Schools Put On Ice

It seems that the Hellenic Federation of Hoteliers’ proposal for the Greek Government to establish a new annual school holiday period so families could take a vacation during the winter, will temporarily be put on ice. According to the country’s tourism head, more has to be done for the proposal to support Greek domestic tourism.

The federation recently presented a proposal to the ministries of Tourism and Education for Greece to establish an annual four-day school break period, a “Ski Week” (or “White Week”), aimed to boost domestic tourism.

In a statement to the press, Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni assured that the ministry was taking the federation’s proposal under serious consideration. However, she added that for the proposal to be effective, issues must first be resolved with many other ministries.

More specifically, the Education Ministry must resolve critical educational issues; the Culture Ministry must cooperate to give a cultural dimension to the program; the Transport Ministry must cooperate to facilitate transport; and the regions and local authorities must spread awareness to attract the local communities.

The tourism minister said if the proposal for a school break in the winter period was implemented in a complete manner, it could be part of an overall program aimed to revive tourism in destinations of the country where it is less developed.

“The main objective of the ministry’s strategy is to support the domestic market, extend the season and develop tourism in many areas of the country,” she said.

Mrs. Kefalogianni also stressed that public awareness and participation is key for the “Ski Week” school break period to be a success for Greek tourism.