Trade Associations

Boosting bilateral relations between Greece and Kenya through cooperation in tourism, rural development and education were at the center of discussions last week between Kenya’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Karanja Kibicho and his Greek counterpart Dimitris Kourkoulas.

A possible Value Added Tax (VAT) increase on hotels in Greece, from the current 6.5 percent to 13 percent, would be “catastrophic” for the country’s economy and employment sector, according to the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE).

More Americans are interested in traveling to Greece in 2015, the Hellenic-American Chamber of Tourism (HACT) said on Wednesday, adding however that US tour operators are on standby until the election period is over and the situation stabilizes.

“Our goal is for Athens to become a metropolitan center for tourism at a European and global level and a strong and attractive city break destination,” Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni said on Tuesday.

The outlook for Greek tourism in 2015 remains positive despite an air of uncertainty in the mind of the global public opinion regarding Greece created by much of the international media coverage of the January 25 elections.

Tourism and uncertainty do not go together, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Friday from Rhodes in the context of New Democracy’s pre-election campaign just two weeks until elections.

Boasting over 20 million incoming visitors, creating some 100,000 new jobs and contributing more than 20 percent to the country’s GDP, Greece’s tourism sector is undeniably a driving force to be reckoned with, the president of the main industry body said in his New Year’s statement, expressing his concerns about snap elections set to take place on January 25.

Whether it’s in The Independent, CNN or the Huffington Post, Greece has yet again made it into top choice lists as one of the world’s best destinations to visit in 2015, but tourism industry insiders are now expressing fears that snap elections on January 25 will have an massive impact on the market.

Greeks are set to vote on January 25 after Prime Minister Antonis Samaras failed for the third time to convince lawmakers to support his nominee, Stavros Dimas, for president.

The tourism industry across Europe has applauded the recent formation of a new Intergroup by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on the subject of Tourism.