Offering Exceptional Customer Service High on Priority List of Greek Travel Agents

Aiming to offer exceptional customer service to travelers this year, the Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies (HATTA) recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Greek Development Ministry and EBETAM certification body.

Operating under the supervision of the General Secretariat of Industry of the Ministry of Development, EBETAM will monitor the quality of services provided by travel agencies and certify them accordingly.

The agreement was signed during HATTA’s recent annual general assembly during which priorities for 2023 were set.

“This is particularly important,” Development & Investments Minister Adonis Georgiadis said during the signing of the agreement.

“The high quality of offered services will attract higher income tourists to Greece with a higher per capita expenditure,” he said.

Greece broke European records in 2022

Moreover, during his speech, Georgiadis said Greece is among the countries that have recorded the largest tourism-related revenue since 2019, breaking European records and faring well during the pandemic years.

He added that Greece has attracted the significant investments in tourism with the largest hospitality chains opening hotels in the country. He did however admit that finding employees was the “biggest obstacle” to the further strengthening of the Greek tourism industry and underlined the need for businesses to offer better wages.

The HATTA event was also attended by Greek Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias, Labor Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) Secretary General Dimitris Fragakis and Federation of Hellenic Associations of Tourist & Travel Agencies (fedHATTA) representatives.

Addressing the general assembly, Kikilias said the priorities this year were to ensure a balanced development across Greece’s 13 regions and the extension of the tourism season.

The minister went on to add that the most important markets for Greece were in Europe and the US, connections to which were being enhanced through a stronger airline network. He also said that this year Greece should be expecting a return of Chinese travelers.

During the assembly, HATTA representatives referred to a major success last year, the association’s cooperation agreement with the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), which is aimed at boosting bilateral tourist flows between Greece and the US.

Lastly, HATTA awarded Manos and Rena Tsatsaki for their contribution to group travel through their historic tourism agency Manos Travel.

Following its general assembly, HATTA members voted for a new Board of Directors.