4 months within the Olympic complexes.
● The bill provides for the simplification of the
licensing and zoning regime, and the opera-
tional adjustments of tourist ports that have not
been granted operating licenses.
● There is also the option to amend the permit-
ted uses of land in areas covered by the
decree concerning the coast of Attica.
● The draft law resolves issues related to the
delineation of the country’s skiing centres, set-
ting a deadline of 2 years for the granting of
operating licenses.
● Finally, the bill permits the operation of retail
stores located in tourist port zones on Sundays
and holidays, for tourist purposes.
Moreover, the structures of both the ministry and
the Greek National Tourism Organisation will
undergo radical changes. Thus, the Special
Department for the Promotion and Licensing of
Tourist Investments, the Research and
Investment Directorate, as well as part of the mar-
ket supervision directorate, will be transferred
from the GNTO to the Ministry.
Moreover, the lack of statistical information about
Greek tourism is addressed through the estab-
lishment of a Tourism Observatory, designed to
utilize data from the “Tourism Satellite Account”,
prepare studies of the tourist market and present
the relevant findings. The aim is to support docu-
mented interventions and promote targeted
development projects in the tourism sector. The
ultimate target is to advertise all aspects of
Greece’s tourist product.
In this context, the Ministry of Tourism and the
Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) signed, in
2013, a memorandum of understanding regarding
the exchange of tourism statistics, for the purpos-
es of the Tourism Satellite Account and the
Tourism Observatory. The aim is to create a mod-
ern statistical information system in the tourist
sector, designed to support the making, follow-up
and evaluation of tourist policy in Greece.
This way Greece is fulfilling its obligations to pro-
vide the European Union, national agencies and
international organizations, as well as all interested
parties directly or indirectly related to tourism, with
reliable and timely information.
Finally, tourism attaché positions are established
in the Greek embassies in countries where the
GNTO does not maintain offices.
Investment opportunities - gems
The call for expression of interest by the National
Bank of Greece for the sale of the Astir Palace
Vouliagmeni hotel, which lies on the Mikro
Kavouri peninsula, a few kilometres from the cen-
tre of Athens, has stirred worldwide interest.
Many people, in Greece and abroad, consider
this area to be “the best in the Mediterranean and
one of the most beautiful in the world”.
Trade with Greece
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This way Greece is fulfilling
its obligations to provide
the European Union,
national agencies and interna-
tional organizations, as well as
all interested parties directly or
indirectly related to tourism,
with reliable and timely infor-
mation.
”
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