Key Tourism Figures 2019: Konstantinos Loulis, Secretary General, Tourism Ministry

Our aim is to contribute to the growth of the Greek economy by further strengthening Greece’s image

Tourism is one of the country’s key sectors that has traditionally played an important role in the Greek economy and, as such, has acted as a backbone for the economy in the past.

It is worth mentioning that tourist arrivals in the decade 2009-2018 has contributed around 125 billion euro to the Greek economy with tourism-related employment increasing by 12.7% in the same time period, while revenues related to tourism increased by 50% between 2012 and 2018.

Greece has consistently managed to attract large numbers of tourists with increasing revenues; only last year we noted a record number of 33 million tourist arrivals that generated some 16.5 billion euro in revenue, while at the same time, the average spending per tourist arrival has increased by about 16% compared to last year.

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… It is now time to focus on tourism as a ‘product’ and differentiate it, by enhancing the quality of this product as well as modernizing and expanding it…

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Apart from the obvious competitive advantages of Greece as a tourist destination, based on the climate, the geography, the rich cultural heritage and the natural beauty, it is now time to focus on tourism as a ‘product’ and differentiate it, by enhancing the quality of this product as well as modernizing and expanding it.

Our strategy focuses on sustainable growth, on expanding the tourist period while featuring tourist destinations other than the well-known popular ones, on safeguarding high-quality tourist infrastructures with optimized ecological footprint, on utilizing digital media and technology innovations and on attracting higher-income tourists.

At the same time we are planning to upgrade Schools of Tourism Professionals, to simplify bureaucratic procedures for investors, to offer attractive thematic tourist options, to expand and improve the access routes to Greece and to focus on dynamic emerging markets such as China, India, the Arabian Peninsula, etc.

Our aim is to contribute to the growth of the Greek economy by further strengthening Greece’s image as an ideal destination both for vacation and tourism-related investments.