Trade Associations

The Culture and Tourism Ministry is expected to soon announce which of the 28 offices and branches it operates abroad will close, the Greek press said recently.

The Pan-Hellenic Federation of Tourism Enterprises (GEPOET) recently wondered where exactly Greek tourism was headed as, according to press reports, travel agencies are assumed to be included in plans to open so-called “closed-shop professions.”

The concept of Greece is changing from that of a simple destination to that of a country where the visitor can live unique experiences, Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos said last month at the 17th International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM) in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Athens Mayor George Kaminis held a meeting last month with Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos at City Hall and discussed opportunities for the development of tourism in the Greek capital, according to a press release issued by the ministry.

Some 1,500 small hotel units with a capacity of less than 10 rooms are threatened with prosecution by the Self-Employed Workers’ Insurance Organization (OAEE) for non-payment of contributions, according to the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels.

The Hellenic Chamber of Hotels announced last month that it plans to network all Greek hotels with the Amber Alert system to help distribute notices of missing children with the help of hoteliers.

“Does Greece’s tourism product benefit from the operation of low cost carriers in the country?” was one of the main questions asked at the “Low cost carriers in the Greek skies” assembly organized recently in Athens by the Hellenic Aviation Society and the Hellenic Association of Airline Representatives.

If the increase of port charges are passed on to the consumer, cruise passengers would most likely cancel their bookings and prefer other locations because the Greek product will have become too expensive, according to the General Pan-Hellenic Federation of Tourism Enterprises (GEPOET).

“The proposal for a new development model for Greek tourism is basically a policy proposal primarily aimed at bringing about a major mentality change,” President of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) Nikos Angelopoulos said at the presentation of the “Greek Tourism 2020 – Proposal for a new development model” study last month in Athens.

The Cultural Coast of Piraeus project aims to highlight the comparative advantages of Piraeus so the city can once again become a reference point rather than simply a point of transit as it is considered today, according to the Culture and Tourism Ministry.