The Ministry of Tourism will announce its readiness to express interest in the implementation of infrastructure projects related to tourism and the sustainability of key destinations within the next three to four weeks. This is a significant portion of 39 projects that have been selected as vital to alleviate pressure on tourist destinations such as Athens and Santorini and other areas whose development has rendered existing infrastructure obsolete. This, in particular, was announced by the Minister of Tourism Vasilis Kikilias, speaking exclusively with “Kathimerini”.

At the same time, he expresses moderate optimism that 2023 will be a record year for tourism, well ahead of 2019. The indicators that the country achieved last year, despite the fact that the first months of 2022 were affected by pandemics, but also by the outbreak of war in Ukraine. To the crucial question about his long-term tourism strategy, he answers clearly: “Yes, I want more tourists, but I also want visitors to add more value to the national economy all year round, but also in 13 regions of Russia.” country, and not just two or three, as is done now.

So what projects are being launched immediately and how will they help spread the year’s tourism and alternative destinations while easing those most burdened? “We are talking about projects in ports and harbours, marinas and wharfs, as well as ski resort infrastructure, mountain routes, waste management, sewerage, as well as parking lots. These are relatively small projects compared to major highways or metros, but they have a very large multiplier effect on the quality of life, the environment, and also on the service to the country’s guests,” explains V. Kikilias.

For example, the creation of a parking lot for tourist buses in the center of Athens is an inexpensive project, but it is of great importance for the quality of life of the Athenians, as well as for serving the guests of the capital. The same applies to parking spaces in places that suffer disproportionately from overtourism, such as Santorini, he said.

According to the minister, the total amount of investments that will be mobilized immediately, starting next month, when the first relevant announcements are made, is about 1 billion euros. 350 million will come from the Resilience and Recovery Fund, about the same amount will be provided by the bank, and the rest will come from private funds that can take on concessions in marinas or in waste management and other projects. But what will be able to promote from these projects in order to cope with the problems that inevitably accompany large flows of tourists? The minister reassures, because, as he explains, the issue of announcements has already been resolved with the Government Presidium and the interdepartmental commission for approving projects and including them in the accelerated regime, regardless of the size of their budget. and then the ministry acts like a rush. During this period, the Prime Minister is finalizing the financial schemes and therefore the first invitations for expressions of interest will be issued in March.

We are working on a regulation that will close windows for those who use short-term rentals while operating hotels.

“Protecting the nature and environment of destinations, the sustainability of tourism in general, is a priority that has been set by the Prime Minister himself and which is fully shared by this government and ministry,” he admits. That is why a very serious and detailed work was done last year to register problems with the help of independent consulting companies, as well as institutional tourism bodies such as SETE, from which these 39 priority projects were selected.

Are these interventions enough? “Of course not, but this is the first step,” says Vassilis Kikilias, “and don’t forget, just two weeks ago we implemented the tools needed to move into a new era of proper referral management. We have created a structure of destination management organizations through which local government, interested public and private bodies and the state can offer solutions tailored to the needs of each destination.” An example of managing the arrival of cruise ships in Santorini and determining the maximum number of travelers per season that can disembark daily using a modern seat allocation system is one example given by the Minister. “Managing organizations, ideally, will finally be able to effectively promote even the most degraded regions of the country, and not just regulate flows in the flooded with visitors.”

“Now it has become clear to everyone, especially in the last few years, that tourism is directly related to the course of the national economy and for this reason requires planning, strategy, consensus and a lot of work. Thus, the successful opening of tourism was possible already in the summer of 2020, even before the second wave of the pandemic hit the country, and thus in 2021 and 2022, Greek tourism has recovered at an impressive pace compared to competitors. So some people’s perception that tourism is on auto-pilot is perhaps too simplistic,” he points out derisively.

Moreover, he is clearly aware that nowadays tourism has evolved into a much more complex activity, which includes not only “sun and sea” and hotels, but also short-term rentals, long-term guest accommodations such as digital nomads, retirees and very wealthy people. “We have entered an era where new models account for an increasing share of the hospitality economy. One of them is, of course, short-term rentals. They have given and continue to give many small property owners access to additional income, but I repeat here that together with the Ministry of Finance we are working on regulation that will close the windows for those entrepreneurs who massively use this activity. , actually renting hotels for short-term rent. A separate regulatory and taxation regime is planned for this activity,” says Vassilis Kikilias.

Regarding the discussion of two speeds in Greek tourism, with 5- and 4-star hotels flourishing and 3- and 2-star hotels remaining under great pressure, it is clear that the work and policy of the ministry and government is to provide opportunities for everyone. in degree. they can offer a good product and good hosting services. “Additional incentives are and will be given to those who want to increase the level of their activities,” he promises.

Signs of tourism revenue up 20% this year

“I believe that, barring unfortunate contingencies, which have unfortunately increased in recent years, Greek tourism will be able to outperform 2019 by 10% to 20% in terms of revenue in 2023.” Making it clear that he cannot and does not want to play a prophet, Vassilis Kikilias nevertheless explains why he thinks such a scenario is likely to come true. “Last year we reached the targets of 2019. We will know the exact figures in a few days from the Bank of Greece. But that recovery came within a year that began with the pandemic in full swing in January and February, the latter of which also saw Russia’s attack on Ukraine. This is the period, if you remember, when bookings were frozen and everyone was worried about a new crisis in tourism. Fortunately, this did not happen and activity has recovered rapidly since May. So we had a very good year, despite a bad first quarter and despite the fact that both the Chinese market and the Russian and Ukrainian markets, which in the past provided a large amount of Greek tourism, were absent throughout the year. This year, airline seat scheduling as well as advance bookings show a 20% increase compared to last year and compared to 2019. At the same time, the number of flights from abroad increased to new historical highs already in 2022. , and dozens of additional flights are planned for this year. The country remains highly favored by Europeans, while also occupying a position in the top ten in major long-haul markets such as the US, Canada, as well as Asia and Australia. According to the latest available data, it is in fifth place among Europeans, and the US market is still showing signs of strong growth. Who would have expected an airline like Delta to end its last year flight schedule on January 10 this year and start the 2023 schedule from March.” “Also,” he continues, “if that’s not enough to make you optimistic, consider the fact that all the major international hotel chains are now based in Greece and are even looking to expand their footprint here.” “At the same time, billions are being invested in the construction of new complexes, in the modernization of existing ones, as well as in acquisitions,” he adds.

The Minister of Tourism shared his thoughts with Katimerini, emphasizing that regions that were not particularly successful in the past are now contributing to the development of tourism. He notes that Epirus, which became a destination for twelve months, is one such case. And he has similar ambitions for Western Macedonia, where he believes Nymphaeum and Presp, combined with two more important destinations in the region, will begin to attract more and more Greeks and foreigners for long periods of the year. “After all, we are working on this, as we are working for the whole country. The joint advertising programs that we “launched” this winter with foreign airlines and tourist offices are one of the tools that we use and which ended up being successful,” the minister says. It becomes clear that for Vasilis Kikilia the Ministry of Tourism has become one of the so-called productive ministries. And this is because, he recalls, tourism is now inextricably linked to the course of the national economy, since it directly and indirectly produces about 25% of GDP.

National success

“Remember 10 years ago when we were as proud as today of Greek shipping. Which shipping then brought about 10% of the Greek GDP in foreign currency revenue. At that time, we only compared it with tourism, which was then at the same level. From that time in the early 2010s until today, Greek tourism in especially adverse conditions has more than doubled, surpassing commercial shipping, even though it also continues to grow dynamically. And this is the result of the hard work of entrepreneurs and workers in the sector, as well as the active support of the activity and all its participants, especially in the last three years, from the state and the current government. Targeted support packages for businesses and workers during the pandemic have also become an international example of good practice. After all, this is the success of all Greeks, which we must preserve, and now also by providing the conditions for its sustainability.”