Trade Associations

Mapping out a uniform and all-encompassing national strategy that will maximize the benefits and lay the groundwork for further development in tourism are at the top of the ministry’s agenda for the coming months, Tourism Minister Giorgos Stathakis told the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) conference.

During the opening of SETE’s 14th Tourism & Development Conference in Athens on Monday, Greek Alternate Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura said that the ministry’s main concern is to support tourism entrepreneurship.

The Athens – Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association is proud to announce that it has actively contributed to the promotion of the 33rd “Athens Marathon. The Authentic”, which kicks off on November 8, through a series of initiatives in the run-up to the mega sporting event.

Unless Europe is competitive in terms of tax and regulatory regime, destination appeal, perceptions of value and visa facilitation, its tourism growth will continue to lose out, according to NET, the Network for the European Private Sector in Tourism.

Highlighting tourism’s overall contribution to the economy and its key role in keeping unemployment figures low, the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), representing the majority of the sector, called on Tourism Minister Giorgos Stathakis to ensure that conditions for further and longterm growth are in place.

“Tourism: The Ark of Greek Economy” will be the theme of the 14th Tourism & Development Conference of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), which will take place on October 19-20 at the Divani Caravel Hotel in Athens.

Tourism professionals in Greece will make efforts to absorb costs of the recent increase of value-added tax (VAT) rates on hotels and islands, a measure that “clearly affects the competitiveness of Greek tourism”, the president of SETE, Andreas Andreadis, recently said in an announcement.

Greece’s Alternate Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura was recently in France and attended the country’s leading international B2B tourism exhibition IFTM Top Resa 2015 to strengthen Greek-French relations and build partnerships for the launch of new agreements.

The Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen & Merchants (GSEVEE) on Thursday said that the VAT increase on the products and services of the Aegean islands will mark a new economic slowdown and have consequences on the competitiveness of Greek tourism.

The possibilities of supporting the tourism side of Lesvos through the UNESCO network were explored on Tuesday during a meeting held at the Tourism Ministry in Athens.