Greek Minister to Propose Tourism Demand-boosting Actions on EU Level

Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis said on Wednesday, that he would be proposing to his EU counterparts a plan aimed at boosting demand for tourism as part of measures taken to safeguard the industry and to secure its long-term viability after the coronavirus health crisis ends.

Theoharis said he has called on Croatian Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli to move an emergency EU ministers summit initially scheduled for April 27-28 forward and for it to be held via conference call.

The Greek minister will also be chairman of the Commission of Europe region for UNWTO in the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Tourism Coordination Virtual Meeting that will assess the damage caused by Covid-19 and address the management of the health crisis at its current phase.

Referring to the coronavirus-related support measures for Greek businesses and employees announced earlier on Wednesday, by Greece’s finance minister, Theoharis said these were a second step focused on ensuring fiscal control.

“The horizontal measures will support employees with an 800-euro subsidy and businesses by suspending loan and debt payments, and contributions so that they can deal with the lack of liquidity,” said Theoharis, adding that the set of actions will first have to be implemented before proceeding to the next step.

“We are working with all stakeholders to gather their proposals and to propose to the finance ministry to support the country’s connectivity, tourism businesses and our tourism product as a whole,” he said.