●enhancing the tourism image and brand of Greece
abroad through a coherent communication strate-
gy which repositions Greece as a safe and friend-
ly destination all year round.
The National Strategic Plan for Tourism entails:
●For the tourism industry
●Increase in the numbers of outbound tourism;
●Improvement in the quality of tourism infrastruc-
ture;
●Attraction of tourists seeking authentic experi-
ences.
●For the Greek economy
-Increase in employment rates;
-Maximization of tourism receipts;
-Spreading of tourism benefits for the Greek society.
●For the overall growth of our country
-Inter-linkage of tourism with the agricultural sector
of the economy;
-Respect to the national and cultural environment;
-Change of Greece’s image abroad in terms of safe-
ty and security.
As we all know, tourism is one of the key pillars of
growth, recovery and competitiveness not only for
the national economies, but also for Europe as a
whole. It is a key sector, employing nearly 20 million
people and contributing to social cohesion across
the continent. Furthermore, the cruise industry and
coastal tourism have an important impact on the
national economies of many EU member states; the
sector is considered to be an employment genera-
tor, both direct and indirect.
Traditionally, Greece as a coastal country, with the
second largest coastal zone in the EU, gives partic-
ular emphasis on maritime and coastal tourism and
activities. The Integrated Maritime Policy of the EU
is, inter alia, a core horizontal priority of the Greek
presidency. In the field of tourism, the Greek presi-
dency will focus on the initiative of the European
Commission to set up an EU strategy on the
“Challenges and Opportunities for Maritime and
Coastal Tourism in the EU”, promoting the sustain-
able economic growth of the maritime and coastal
tourism sector and enhancing its overall competi-
tiveness.
In view of the upcoming relevant Communication of
the Commission, the Greek Ministry of Tourism is
going to organise a high-level Conference on
Maritime and Coastal Tourism from 14 to 15 March
2014. The programme of the conference will, indica-
tively, comprise issues related to coastal tourism,
cruise tourism, yachting, coastal management, mar-
itime clusters, cooperation between the public and
the private sector, etc.
Moreover, the Greek presidency will put particular
emphasis on the facilitation of visa regime for third
countries nationals, which we believe will greatly
benefit the European travel and tourism industry,
with intensified tourism flows from these markets
already before the next summer period.
As a leading sector of the Greek economy, tourism
is called upon to contribute to overcoming the crisis
in many ways. In this respect, restoring the interna-
tional image of Greece and increasing the turnover
of tourism businesses, as well as employment,
through tourism are important challenges taken into
account in the government’s planning. The reduction
of the VAT rate on restaurant services from 23% to
13% has been an important recent development that
we expect to greatly boost the competitiveness of
the entire sector.
The key issue today, as far as tourism is concerned,
is to boost the outward orientation of the tourism
sector by attracting both visitors and tourism
investors. As for tourism investors, the tourism
resources of Greece are well-known and admired;
the investment environment is favourable for both
Greeks and foreigners to invest in key sectors such
as MICE tourism, medical tourism, tourist accom-
modation complexes, maritime tourism, regional air-
ports, ports etc. In that direction, a Tourism
Investment Special Service has been established,
operating as a one-stop-shop to facilitate major
investment initiatives in tourism.
As for our visitors, constantly capitalising on the
power of online channels, including websites and
social media, for the promotion of our tourism in
international markets and having launched this year,
for the first time, our communication campaign earli-
er –communication activities started in October and
will reach their peak in April 2014, a crucial period for
booking and selling packages worldwide– we expect
a more successful year to come. The continuous
success story of Greek tourism will be the result of
coordinated work, rallying together not only the
Greek public authorities of tourism and the tourism
industry, but also the entire Greek society, which
increasingly builds a tourism conscience linked to
the Greek virtue of hospitality.
Tourism incorporates the values of the past, under-
lines the will of the present and brings out the power
of the future. Our goal is for Europe to remain the
world’s No 1 tourist destination, a common brand for
the eternal values of democracy, unity in diversity
and innovation, inspired by respect to tradition.
I would like to thank the EU Council Presidencies of
Ireland and Lithuania, as well as the European
Commission for their contribution to the promotion of
our common goals for European tourism and I wish
a very fruitful and successful presidency, one which
will contribute to the deepening of the relationship of
the EU with its citizens.
Trade with Greece
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