Greece Unveils Projects Worth €387 Million for Sustainable Tourism Development

Hellenic Chamber of Hotels President Alexandros Vassilikos, GNTO’s Secretary General Andreas Fiorentinos, Deputy Minister of Tourism Elena Rapti, Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogianni. Photo source: Tourism Ministry

Projects worth a total of 387 million euros, funded by the European Recovery and Resilience Facility, are either in the pipeline or soon to be approved by Greece’s Ministry of Tourism.

Aiming for the sustainable development of the Greek tourist market, Greek Minister of Tourism, Olga Kefalogianni, outlined the Ministry’s actions and projects while visiting the Greek National Tourist Organization (GNTO) exhibition stand at the 88^th Thessaloniki International Trade Fair (TIF-HELEXPO), inaugurated on Saturday, September 7.

“All the projects we are implementing, along with our other actions and interventions in the institutional framework, will enhance the qualitative development of the Greek tourist product, highlight the potential of our destinations, support our competitiveness, and create new investment opportunities,” remarked Olga Kefalogianni.

Deputy Minister of Tourism Elena Rapti, Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogianni. Photo source: Tourism Ministry

Specifically, she referred to the following:

– Upgrading of ski resorts: 16 investment plans with a total budget of 149 million euros have been submitted, and 4 have already been approved.

– Upgrading of marinas, moorings, and sea refuges: 41 investment plans have been submitted, worth about 182 million euros, with 9 of them approved to date.

– Upgrading of mountain shelters: 7 applications have been received, and they are currently under review.

– Enhancing beach accessibility: 160 investment proposals have been submitted, with a total cost of approximately 31 million euros.

– The Ministry has issued a call for applications regarding the upgrading of existing and development of new spa and wellness tourism facilities.

– The first advertising contract has been signed for the promotion of agrotourism and gastronomy tourism.

– By the end of September, a contract will be signed for the establishment and operation of DMMOs (Destination Marketing and Management Organizations).

– The Ministry will soon commission a study on senior citizen tourism, the strategic development of medical tourism, and a strategy for the development of natural thermal bath resources.

Minister Kefalogianni also acknowledged the importance of a retraining program for thousands of tourism sector employees as well as for the unemployed. She noted that Greece’s National Tourism Organization is preparing “to go digital,” aiming to disseminate travel-related information “quickly and simply.” Finally, she referred to the adaptation to a new hotel ranking system aligned with international standards set by the Hotel Stars Union.

Year-Round Tourism for All Program Announced

Deputy Minister of Tourism, Elena Rapti, announced that the Ministry’s “Tourism for All” program, which subsidizes vacations for qualifying individuals, will be extended on a year-round basis in 2025, thus “also benefiting tourism professionals accordingly.”