Trade Associations

The biggest problem facing Greek tourism is the lack of a long-term strategy and policy, said Spyros Kokotos, president of the Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises, during the 16th Philoxenia tourism fair. Mr. Kokotos added that the present government has failed to effectively incorporate tourism in its development policies.

Evangelos Venizelos is the country’s new culture minister. Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis replaced Culture Minster Theodoros Pangalos on November 19, the same day as a front-page interview by the latter expressed disagreement with certain government policies, including labor market reforms.

Athens’s new Eleftherios Venizelos airport at Spata, 13 kilometers out of the capital, last month was handed over by the Hochtief-led consortium that built it in just over four years to the company that will undertake the management until 2030 (The Greek state has a 55-percent stake in the management company, Athens International Airport, while the consortium holds the remaining 45 percent).

A total of 596.5 billion drachmas will be absorbed by the Greek tourism sector over the next five years with help from the Third EU Structural Fund and corresponding private investment, says Development Minister Nikos Christodoulakis. Much of the funds will aim at bringing these businesses into the digital age, he says.

Greece’s cultural ministry recently announced four-year cultural activity plan in view of 2004 Athens Olympics. The project is called the Cultural Olympiad and will include large-scale events. The cultural ministry has formulated a budget of some 35 billion drachmas for the project. Some of the events will bring in cash through ticket sales, others will be funded through sponsorship deals.

State-run marinas in Attica and Thessaloniki will be reorganized and upgraded to the high standards seen elsewhere in Europe, Development Minister Nikos Christodoulakis announced recently.

The Hellenic Tourism Organization says that infrastructure improvements, mainly the expansion of island airports, have contributed to the increase in tourist arrivals.

After sitting quietly since its inception some two years ago, the holding company formed to manage the Hellenic Tourism Organization’s extensive list of properties seems ready to enter a new phase. At a recent press call to present the company’s new chairman, Stefanos Hatzopoulos, the first step in the new phase is to upgrade Attica’s state-operated marinas and organized beach properties with a 150-billion drachma investment program.

Athens could soon acquire a theme park, an aquarium, a marine research park and more marinas as part of a major two-year investment project by the Hellenic Tourism Organization’s new real estate subsidiary, Development Minister Nikos Christodoulakis said last month.

The government is willing to meet Olympic Airways’ debts despite the anticipated reaction from the European Union, said Transport Minister Christos Verelis in a recent interview with the Greek daily newspaper Ta Nea.