Trade Associations

“Greece has returned. Greece is making a dynamic comeback and we can confirm this,” UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai said while citing official data during the first International Congress on Ethics and Tourism that took place in Madrid, Spain, 15-16 September.

Foreign arrivals to Greece this year are expected to reach, if not surpass, some 16.5 million, the president of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE), Andreas Andreadis, informed Prime …

The Culture and Tourism Ministry last month launched a series of events in an attempt to revitalize the Greek capital city’s center and attract Athenians to areas that are usually difficult to visit, Greek press reports said.

The General Secretariat of Tourism recently launched a tender to select an operator for the port in Mytilini who would be granted the use, utilization, management, administration and operation of the port for a period of 40 years.

The Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) recently announced the initial results of its targeted advertising campaign carried out for the first time over the Internet for the month of June.

The Piraeus Traders Association last month called for the Greek Government to deal with the constant increase in petty theft crimes aimed at tourists.
In a letter to the Culture and Tourism and Citizen Protection Ministers, Pavlos Geroulanos and Christos Papoutsis respectively, the association said petty theft and muggings are thriving on the Athens Piraeus Electric Railways (ISAP).

The Athens Tourism and Economic Development Company (ATEDCo) in late July launched “This is MY Athens,” a new free tourist service that welcomes visitors to the Greek capital and promotes cultural exchange between locals and travelers.

Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos last month approved a three-month extension of a campaign launched by the Athens-Attica Hotel Association and online travel company Expedia.com.
The Greek National Tourism Organization will finance the extension of the campaign.

“The upgrade and unification of Plato’s Academy is a project that has been delayed greatly… Plato’s Academy is a source of wealth for Athens and it must be promoted as such,” Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos said recently.

The provision of the draft law that regulates the liberalization of the tour bus profession so licenses could be easier obtained was voted in Parliament in early August.
To the disappointment of tourism professionals, the opening of the profession was “one-sided” since transfer restrictions (in favor of KTEL intercity buses) have stayed intact.