Op-Ed: Dimitris Fragakis on Greek tourism moving towards sustainability

For two years, Greek tourism has faced the biggest crisis in its history, as the pandemic caused a great loss of revenue, plundering the entire development of our tourism industry.

Going through the third consecutive year of crisis – and facing a double crisis this year – Greek tourism proved its resilience, with a huge collective effort based on three pillars: first pillar, the financial support of tourism companies and employees, which is valued at over 3 billion euros; second pillar, the safe opening of tourism under very well planned health protocols, which were implemented by all; and third pillar, the preservation and strengthening of our country’s brand through the government plan and cooperation of all those involved in our industry.

Guided by the prime minister, the Tourism Ministry and the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) were at the forefront of the struggle to protect the image of the country and of the immense effort to strengthen it. It should be mentioned that even during the Covid lockdowns we ran campaigns abroad, while we prepared the big campaigns of 2020 and 2021, working closely with all the big players in the market – airlines, tour operators, leading international digital platforms, media and digital media, utilizing and enhancing our digital face. The 2022 campaign kicked off this winter with “Greece does have a winter” and “Greekend*”, which changed the way Greece is promoted abroad in terms of its tourism image.
But challenges are still ahead.

The next day has already started for tourism at an international level, while the bar on a national level has been set very high, as our country now shapes the developments in tourism, such as the Digital COVID Certificate.

Sustainability is clearly the biggest challenge of the decade we are already going through and a national goal by 2030. But sustainability is not just about preserving natural resources or preserving our cultural heritage. In my opinion, sustainability also has a deep social aspect, especially for our country where sustainable tourism can play an even more important role in strengthening social cohesion.

So, the big challenge for the decade we are going through is the further spatial diffusion of our tourism product and the consequent further increase of revenues in more parts of the country and for more citizens. From the 4 Greek regions that currently enjoy the benefits of tourism, we must create the corresponding conditions for all 13 regions of the country to enjoy these benefits. After all, we have those comparative advantages that make the whole country a potential tourist destination all year round. This will mean more growth, more extroversion for local communities and more jobs for young people. The more tourism converges on local communities, the greater the benefits for all citizens.

In this way we will be able to move on from resilience to the development and sustainability of our tourism and I am optimistic that we will achieve this goal all together.

Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) Secretary General
Dimitris Fragakis

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