Yiannis Retsos Signs Off as SETE President, Announces Future Plans

The outgoing president of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), Yiannis Retsos. Photo source: SETE

The president of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), Yiannis Retsos, will hand over the reins of the confederation on May 31 following two, successive, full terms.

After serving as SETE’s chairman for six years, Retsos is moving on to the next chapter of his life.

“I can assure you all that I have no interest in entering the political scene… What I will do next clearly involves the hospitality sector and specifically the development of Electra Hotels,” he said on Thursday, during his last meeting with journalists as SETE’s president.

The managing director and main shareholder of the Electra Hotels & Resorts chain, Retsos announced that he will soon proceed with a new investment in Thessaloniki.

Expected to reach some 24-25 million euros, the new project involves a long-term lease of a plot of land next to the Christian Brotherhood of Young People of Thessaloniki (known as HAN Thessaloniki) and located across from the premises of the city’s international exhibition center, which will be developed into a 5-star hotel.

Expected to be completed by 2027, the hotel will have 165 rooms and added to the portfolio of Electra Hotels & Resorts, which currently counts hotels in Athens, Thessaloniki, Rhodes and Kefalonia.

The new hotel will be the second under the Electra brand in Thessaloniki, a city, according to Retsos, that has many prospects in terms of its tourism development.

Forecast: 2023 tourism numbers will surpass 2019 levels

Yiannis Retsos during his last meeting with journalists as SETE’s president. Photo source: SETE

When asked to give a forecast for this year’s tourism season, Retsos spoke in a very optimistic tone.

“This year will be the year that Greek tourism numbers will surpass the levels of 2019… I am sure of this,” he said.

It is reminded that tourism revenue in 2019 had reached 18.2 billion euros and was recorded as Greece’s highest performance ever. Last year, Greek tourism made a successful post-pandemic comeback with slightly lower revenue (17.63 billion euros) compared to 2019 but up by 67.9 percent compared to 2021.

Regarding the next day of SETE and tourism in general, Retsos said he is confident for the future.

“Since its foundation in 1991, SETE manages to climb one step higher following each change of leadership,” he noted.

SETE to elect new president on May 31

Having served as president of the Athens – Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association (2009-2011) and the president of the Hellenic Hoteliers Federation (2011), Retsos was elected president of SETE in 2017 and again in 2020. During his second term he was called upon to manage the biggest crisis in the history of tourism: Covid-19 – a two-year period that included lockdowns, travel bans, hotel closures and health protocols in the hospitality sector.

“It was a challenging time… We were called to manage a situation that no one had ever faced but we managed to bounce back… The reason for Greek tourism’s quick recovery include the close cooperation that existed between the industry and the government,” he said.

Looking back on his 6 years as SETE president, Retsos said he was proud to have been a part of the detailed National Strategy for Tourism, with a 2030 outlook, drawn up by INSETE, SETE’s research body, and presented to the government and local/regional authorities.

Founded in 1991, SETE is a non-governmental and non-profit organization that was elevated to Social Partner status by the Greek Government in 2013.

SETE today is an umbrella organization that embraces some 500 tourism enterprises, as well as 14 union non-governmental agencies that run the entire tourism value chain (hotels, travel agencies, airlines, MICE, sailing, marinas, tourist coaches, car rentals, etc.).

On May 31, SETE will hold its 31st annual general assembly during which a new president and Board of Directors will be elected.

According to industry insiders, a nomination for SETE’s presidency for the first time comes from aviation and not the hotel sector. Since its foundation, all of SETE’s president have been high profile Greek hoteliers.