European Meet-up Sees Momentum for Greek Tourism

The fresh dynamic of Greek tourism combined with upgraded services and specialized training promise to strengthen the sector even more, according to findings of the European meet-up titled “Tourism: The Wealth-producing Industry of the Greek Economy”, held recently at the Life Gallery hotel in Athens.

The day event was organized by Militos Consulting SA and supported by the G & A Mamidakis Foundation and brought together experts from the areas of tourism, local government, and business who explored new models and guidelines for the upgrade of tourism services and ways to enhance the skills of industry professionals.

Among the issues discussed during the European meet-up were the successful extension of the tourism season, the increase in tourism-related revenues, and the record number of arrivals.

Key findings reveal that Greek stakeholders must draw up a well-thought-out strategy on how to benefit from the current geo-political reality in the region and gain the upper hand in terms of competitiveness. Issues of utmost importance include taxation of the tourist product, incentives, tapping into new funding tools for the upgrade of infrastructure, and regulating the sharing economy in efforts to benefit from tourism-related activity.

The meet-up also concluded that Greece’s tourism industry has managed despite the economic crisis to create new conditions of growth, generate know-how and pave the way for an upgraded tourist product, new models and services; the sector is supporting an “outward-looking” economic model with 90 percent of revenue coming from abroad; due to the diversity of products offered it is attracting investor interest and creating news jobs and expertise; the digital practices of the era are calling for new demands and skills; and finally, regulation must be in place to address the loss of revenue from sharing economy practices.

The event was held within the “Rooms to VET” EU project, which aims to maintain and boost the competitiveness of the European tourism industry by supporting the upskilling and professionalisation of tourism services, with a focus on tourism services provided by owners of private accommodation facilities, small residences and family arrangements and the exploitation of opportunities and tools available at national and European levels.

The Greek Travel Page (GTP) was media sponsor of the European meet-up “Tourism: The Wealth-producing Industry of the Greek Economy”.