Greek Tourism Draft Law Prioritizes Restoring Zakynthos’ Shipwreck Site

Navagio beach, Zakynthos.

A newly tabled draft law covering Greece’s tourism strategy is focused among others on restoring and upgrading one of the country’s most-visited sites: the Navagio shipwreck on Zakynthos, and on providing development tools to all regions, said Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias speaking in parliament during the presentation this week of the bill.

Kikilias pledged to resolve in “transparency and effectively” long-standing issues, including safety at the Navagio and to transform the world-famous site into a “sustainable, high-quality tourism product”.

He went on to add that the ministry’s strategy is targeted at making available “the opportunity and the tools so that all the regions, all municipalities and all the unique areas in Greece develop their tourist product”.

Kikilias also referred to other key areas of the bill including setting out the terms of operation for destination management and promotion organizations (DMOs) with the aim of extending the tourism season and developing wellness tourism. In this direction, the proposed legislation covers ways to utilize the country’s natural springs and spas.

“The plan is part of a horizontal development strategy on top of which the national recovery fund and the EU’s recovery and resilience facility with 320 million euros will be invested in marinas, ports, ski resorts, thermal springs, disability access to beaches, digitization of basic tourism structures, such as the GNTO,” said Kikilias.