Niche Markets

Two postgraduate study programs on religious tourism are to operate through partnerships of three Greek universities and the Church of Greece, according to a framework agreement signed recently at an assembly hosted at the Holy Monastery of Penteli.

Chaotic bureaucracy, ski resorts that do not bear the appropriate GNTO seal due to land-use matters and the strong competition from neighboring countries are just some of the problems of Greek ski tourism, experts stressed at a recent forum held in Athens for the development of ski tourism in Greece.

The development of diving tourism is one of the top priorities of the Culture and Tourism Ministry within the framework of promoting alternative forms of tourism, Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister George Nikitiadis said at the “Biodiversity and Diving Tourism in the Greek Seas” conference held in Athens in late November.

With a 400,000-euro marketing investment, Greek gastronomy over the next five years could become one of the main reasons to choose Greece as a holiday destination, the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) pointed out last month during the presentation of the study “Gastronomy in the Marketing of Greek Tourism.”

The Culture and Tourism Ministry last month announced its intention to establish a Conference Tourism Committee in an effort to promote Greece in international tourism markets as a meetings and convention destination.

Greece cannot be considered a luxury spa destination as Greek spas currently have no specific identification and hotels that promote themselves as spa resorts do not maintain proper standards, according to the “2nd Wellness Fit & Spa Meeting Day” held last month in Athens.

The development of alternative forms of tourism in the area of Mount Voios in Kozani was discussed in Kozani last December at the presentation of the proposed project “Development of alternative forms of tourism through the creation of a network of hiking paths in the Kozani Prefecture.”

By 2010 two of the four planned diving parks in Greece will be established, announced Tourism Minister Kostas Markopoulos at the conference “Diving Tourism – Present and Future,” organized last month by Greek daily newspaper Apogevmatini.

The Messinia Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently signed an agreement with the Messinia Prefecture and the Municipality of Kalamata for the operation of a Conference and Visitors Bureau in Kalamata for the promotion of conference tourism.

Agri-net, the first attempt to establish a network of agritourism businesses for Thrace, is in the process of implementation.