Greece – Canada Agree to Work Together to Increase Tourist Flows

Actions to boost cooperation in tourism between Greece and Canada topped the agenda of talks between Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni and Canada’s Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism Annie Koutrakis.

Among others, the two officials discussed ways to strengthen tourist flows between the two countries and areas where cooperation is possible.

In this direction, both Kefalogianni and Koutrakis agreed that year-round airline connectivity between Greece and Canada was of utmost importance as well as drawing up a memorandum of understanding between the two countries that would define cooperation.

Koutrakis, who is of Greek decent, said the Canadian ministry was examining the possibility of setting up a bureau in Athens of the Canadian national tourism organization “Destination Canada”.

According to data presented last year by Air Canada and Athens International Airport (AIA), Canada is Athens’ 14th largest international market in direct, scheduled traffic marking a 6 percent increase in passengers in 2022 compared to 2019 traffic and 10th in international arrivals recording a 2 percent increase last year compared to pre-pandemic levels. Indicatively, Air Canada’s traffic to Athens grew five-fold from 2010 to 2022.

The two officials also agreed on arranging a meeting between Kefalogianni and Canada’s Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada.