Laws, Regulations & Policies

Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni attended the Hellenic Federation of Hoteliers’ board meeting on Tuesday 11 September and announced a series of measures for Greek tourism development and ways to attract investments.

Plans to modernize Greek aviation and land passenger transport and overturn obstacles that prevent foreigners from visiting Greece were announced recently by Transport Minister Kostis Hatzidakis.

Employer contributions to the national health insurance fund IKA-ETAM will be cut by five percent next year, Labor Minister Ioannis Vroutsis informed the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels on Monday 10 September. The reduction next year will follow an already announced reduction of 1.1 percent in social security contributions.

All consular authorities of Greece are instructed to extensively use all Schengen visa system facilities to issue visas without delay and with the minimum of formalities, Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos said on Monday 10 September.

The subsidized social tourism holiday programs that were cancelled this year are scheduled to re-launch in 2013, according to Labor Minister Ioannis Vroutsis. The social tourism programs provided subsidized vacations to low-income Greeks.

The Tourism Ministry and the City of Athens in early September announced a twofold effort that will address the tourism disincentives of the city center and see to the creation of new infrastructure to attract visitors.

The word “tourism” was not on Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ agenda at this year’s Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) held at the Thessaloniki International Exhibition Center, 8-16 September.

A bill that will regulate the legal details in regards to the pending liberalization of land passenger transport will be tabled in parliament in April 2013 by the Transport Ministry, the General Pan-Hellenic Federation of Tourism Enterprises (GEPOET) said. By 2015 the market should be open to operate without restrictions.

“The VAT rate on food catering services will not be reduced this year even though it was it was a commitment of the government,” Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni said last month. The VAT cut on food catering services was one of the government’s pre-election promises.

“These bogus apartments-to-let have not decreased and even more have opened and are even advertised via the most known and reliable tourism sites as establishments that provide high quality services …