Greece to Focus on Attracting New Markets in 2024

China and India are among the long-haul markets that Greece will target, according to the country’s tourism strategy.

The Greek Tourism Ministry will be focusing on attracting new and strengthening traditional source markets in 2024, said Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni during the first Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) board meeting of the year on Tuesday.

Outlining the ministry’s tourism marketing and promotional strategy for the year, Kefalogianni said the first aim was to reach out to short-haul markets such as Germany, UK, Italy, France, Scandinavian and Baltic countries.

Referring to France, she said the Olympic Games to be held in August this year is a great opportunity to promote Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, as a top destination for 2024 with a focus on cultural tourism. Last year, Kefalogianni and France’s new ambassador to Greece, Laurence Auer agreed to joint initiatives that will highlight Greece as the birthplace of the Olympic Games.

Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni speaking during the GNTO board meeting on Tuesday.

The minister went on to add that a second goal is to strengthen emerging and traditional short-haul markets such as Austria, Switzerland, Israel, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Poland, Czechia, and Balkan countries.

And lastly, a third goal is to target long-haul markets, both traditional and emerging, including the United States, Canada, China , the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Australia, India, South Korea, and Japan.

Kefalogianni announced that in efforts to reach out to Japan and South Korea, a new body would be set up that will be responsible for promotional actions in these two countries for 2024, particularly in of view of the “Greece-Japan Year of Culture and Tourism” this year.