Greece’s Winter Tourism Prospects Presented at UNWTO Congress

Photo by Maria Theofanopoulou

Greece’s policy for the development of winter tourism was recently presented to leading international experts attending the 10th World Congress on Snow and Mountain Tourism. Held in Andorra on March 21-23, the congress was organized by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the Government of Andorra.

Greece was represented by the General Secretary for Tourism Policy and Development, George Tziallas.

Greece’s General Secretary for Tourism Policy and Development, Giorgos Tziallas with the Andorra Tourism Minister Francesc Camp (left) and Mayoress of Escaldes-Engordany Trinitat Marin Gonzalez.

During his speech, Tziallas highlighted the beneficial effects of establishing a balanced tourism development between winter destinations and popular summer hot spots, which leads to a continuous growth of arrival and revenue numbers.

He also referred to the development and promotion of Greek thematic tourism products in accordance to the country’s comparative advantages — especially mountain-related activities such as skiing, mountain climbing and hiking — as part of the authentic experiences offered by Greece.

On the sidelines of the congress, Tziallas had a meeting with UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili and discussed the launch of further actions under the Greek tourism ministry’s cooperation with the organization. He also met Andorra’s tourism minister, Francesco Camp, and discussed successful models of mountain and winter tourism development.

Tziallas referred to the Greek tourism ministry’s efforts and close cooperation with the regions and private sector in order to establish Greece as a 365 days a year tourism destination. He also introduced Greece’s products and experiences related to winter tourism, as well as mountain destinations in the country.

The 10th World Congress on Snow and Mountain Tourism brought together a wide variety of tourism professionals, ranging from managers of mountain tourism destinations to entrepreneurs in the accommodation sector.

For three days, leading international experts discussed topics linking mountain tourism to the most recent developments related to accommodation and the hospitality industry as well as to quality and knowledge management and innovation in product development and booking technologies and other related innovation in state-of-the-art marketing. The objective was to share expertise in these fields to ensure quality visitor experiences and the positioning of mountain areas as all-year round destinations.