Laws, Regulations & Policy

Greece’s Economy Ministry is considering slashing taxes to enable national economic development, press reports said last month.

The Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies (HATTA) hailed the visa facilitation pilot program launched last month that allows Turkish nationals to visit five Greek Eastern Aegean islands without …

G20 economies could boost their international tourist numbers by an additional 122 million, generate an extra $206 billion in tourism exports and create over five million additional jobs by 2015 …

Five steps are needed to support Greek tourism, SETE said prior to the country’s parliamentary elections in May.

UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, last month called on the tourism sector to unite around the issue of travel facilitation as a means to stimulate demand and, as a result, create …

Greek tour bus owners recently filed a complaint to the European Commission against the monopoly of the KTEL intercity buses and accused the ministries of transport and tourism for overprotecting …

Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister George Nikitiadis last month held a meeting with Izmir Chamber of Commerce chairman Ekrem Demirtas on the development of Greek-Turkish economic relations with a particular …

Greek tourism professionals were stunned last month when they were informed that the abolition of the Workers’ Housing Organization was included on an agreement of austerity measures demanded by Greece’s …

“Tour operators and travel agencies need to modernize their way of operation and provide high quality services and specialized products in a responsible and professional manner,” Yiorgos Telonis, president of …

Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Yeroulanos recently highlighted the importance of free movement of tourists around the world and underlined the need to change the Schengen visa procedure in order …

Fast track procedures for tourism investments are underway at the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Greek National Tourism Organization via the establishment of a special service that will promote …

“Cabotage is finally lifted,” the Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies (HATTA) said last month after the Cabinet approved the bill that included the full lifting of cabotage restrictions …

Recent data showed that incoming tourism to Greece increased last year (10 percent increase in arrivals and revenue) but nothing guarantees that the same will happen in 2012, the general …

The time period for the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) to grant licenses for Greek tourist accommodation will be reduced from 240 days to 60 days, according to arrangements contained …

Greek Manpower Employment Organization (OAED) has announced a four-month subsidy program for workers of seasonal hotels, provided they retain their job positions during the period the hotel is closed.