Greece’s Tourism Strategy Presented at 109th UNWTO Executive Council Meeting

Greek Tourism Secretary General Evridiki Kourneta, UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili and Greek Tourism Ministry Head of International Relations and EU Ekaterini Kontoudaki.

Greece’s tourism strategy, which during the past years has led to impressive results in terms of arrivals and revenue, was presented to tourism leaders from 35 countries from around the world at the 109th session of the UNWTO Executive Council that took place in Manama, Bahrain from October 30 to November 1.

Greek Tourism Secretary General Evridiki Kourneta.

Participating in a session of the UNWTO Executive Council for the second time, Greece last year was elected for the first time as a member to the UNWTO’s Executive Council for the period 2018-2021.

Greek Tourism Secretary General Evridiki Kourneta represented Greece at the UNWTO’s 109th session and during her speech stressed the value and importance of tourism for Greece as one of the most important productive activities that have an overall impact on the economy, society and the environment.

Kourneta also expressed Greece’s support for the implementation of the UNWTO’s vision for global tourism development by 2030 and the priorities of the organization for the next two years regarding innovation and digital transition, investment and entrepreneurship, education and employment, security and the unhindered development of tourism and travel, as well as policies on social, cultural and environmental sustainability.

Greece’s secretary general for tourism also stressed the need to apply innovative practices to Greek and world tourism to ensure high growth in tourism in the coming years in a sustainable and responsible manner. She also touched on the benefits of using new technologies in tourism education and the ongoing high-level training of employees in the industry.

During the session, members of the UNWTO’s Executive Council discussed the organisation’s focus for the global tourism industry by 2030.

Following the meeting, a high-level executive workshop was held on smart tourism management and data-driven decisions entitled “How Big Data Solutions Can Help Public Leaders take Smart Decisions”. The workshop tackled a range of topics on innovation, technology and building the future of tourism.