Olympia Forum IV Explores Sustainable Tourism Benefits for Greece

Olympia Forum IV. Photo source: Delphi Economic Forum.

The benefits of sustainable tourism policies and development on local communities topped the agenda of the Olympia Forum IV held in Ancient Olympia, this week and organized by the Delphi Economic Forum and Patris newspaper.

Greek tourism policymakers and stakeholders, including Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) Executive Director Alexandros Thanos, Western Greece Deputy Regional Governor for Culture and Tourism Nikos Korovessis, and Peloponnese Tourism Organization (PTO) President Konstantinos Marinakos, came together to exchange views and visions for the future of tourism.

Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) Executive Director Alexandros Thanos. Photo source: Delphi Economic Forum.

Among others, Thanos emphasized the need for the private sector to transform in order to be able to effectively manage a tourist destination. Ways to do this, he said, were included in SETE’s Greek Tourism 2030 | Action Plans.

Additionally, Thanos also underlined the importance of coordinated private-public partnerships. “Businesses and entrepreneurs must be able to share their knowledge and experience, but also to gain education,” he said.

Peloponnese Tourism Organization (PTO) President Konstantinos Marinakos. Photo source: Delphi Economic Forum.

On his part, Marinakos referred to the Peloponnese, which has still not managed to tap into its tourism potential and is only now being developed into a comprehensive destination. Marinakos added that only five regions of the country’s 13 account for 90 percent of all tourism activity. Developing the Peloponnese now is an opportunity, he said, to create a new tourism model based on the primary sector and mild tourism development.

Western Greece Deputy Regional Governor for Culture and Tourism Nikos Korovessis. Photo source: Delphi Economic Forum.

Lastly, Korovessis said flexible sustainability policies taking into account the changing social, economic, and environmental conditions were crucial for the next day in tourism.