Op-Ed: Stavros Arnaoutakis on Crete tourism

The National Strategy for Greek Tourism 2030 of INSETE confirms that for an island region such as Crete, cooperation among all involved in tourism is considered a basic condition, both for establishing tourism as a key pillar of the economy, and for safeguarding its ability to evolve.

Within this context, special importance is attributed to the initiative of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) and of the actors involved in the drafting of the National Strategy, as it provides us with all quantitative and qualitative data required for reflecting on, and properly adjusting to the model and the rules to be adopted at a regional level, to meet the challenges of the years to come.

Such challenges are ahead of us, as the successive crises we have been through have already been acting as accelerators for developments, but also as an opportunity for us to emerge even stronger in the light of international competition.

Acting in our capacity as regions and as states, we ought to establish a new model of development focused on the principles of sustainability, with people and environmental protection as epicenters. At the same time, as it results from the National Strategy drafted by excellent scientists, Greek Regions must focus on five main axes through coherent planning: improvement and development of the infrastructure, digital upgrade of tourism enterprises, enhancement of skills and development of entrepreneurship, upgrade of the tourism product, protection of the environment and sustainability.

In the previous years, we promoted the brand name “Crete”, through the implementation of a tourism campaign that won international awards, but first and foremost, that brought measurable results. In the next programming period, we will be implementing a regional tourism policy, in parallel with the national one, focusing on the following: extension of the tourist season, showcasing and promotion of new thematic forms of tourism, opening towards new dynamic foreign markets, improvement of infrastructure, attraction of investments focusing on high quality.

Building on what we have achieved so far, we reinforce the international identity and image of our island as a unique globally attractive destination that offers authentic travel experiences, 365 days a year.

At the same time, capitalising on our conclusions in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), tourism agencies at local level and, of course, the municipalities, we maintain the established characteristics of the industry, while emphasizing on fields where there is still great room for growth.

Regional Governor of Crete
Stavros Arnaoutakis

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