Kikilias – Awarded by DRV for pandemic response

The Minister of Tourism, Vassilis Kikilias, was the keynote speaker last night at the annual Conference of the Association of German Tour Operators (DRV), organized in Costa Navarino, Messinia.

During the opening ceremony, Mr. Kikilias was awarded by the German organizers for the way he dealt with the pandemic as Minister of Health, for the health protocols implemented by Greece.

In his speech, Mr. Kikilias pointed out that Greek tourism, showing remarkable resilience, managed this year to exceed 50% of 2019 that had been set as a goal.

The Minister of Tourism stated that the tourist season of 2022 will start in mid-March and urged Germans to discover new destinations in mainland and island Greece, which may not have been well known until today, but offer an authentic tourist experience.

He clarified that Greece’s strategy is to be at the forefront of sustainable tourism and to become a model of sustainable tourism development and stressed to German tourism professionals that our country is ready to capitalize on the positive climate of this tourist season and is already preparing the ground for Greece’s upward trend in 2022 in the largest tourism market in Europe.

In his statements to the media, Mr. Kikilias stressed that the selection of Greece and the participation of over 450 German tourism professionals, “signify the hard work we do in autumn and winter, in order to reap the fruits for the next summer season. and to support the Greek economy. This has already been done to a significant degree in 2021 and we expect it to become stronger in 2022 “.

In his statements, Mr. Kikilias made special reference to the holding of the Conference in Messinia, noting that “several years ago this region was not the first tourist destination. “With the vision and effort of Captain Vassilis Konstantakopoulos and the continuation of his family, we see that in the area of ​​Pylos, but also in Messinia, tourism is developing for at least ten months a year, with multiple activities.”

“The level of tourism is high and that means high incomes for the region. It is also an example of how we want to strategically direct Greek tourism, which is the locomotive of the Greek economy. Our goal is the development of tourism twelve months a year in all Greek Regions”, concluded the Minister of Tourism.

For his part, the secretary general of EOT stated that “the annual Congress of German travel agents is an important event for us for two reasons: The first because with this conference the great meetings for life actually begin, after 18 months. The second reason is because it is essentially a vote of confidence in Greek tourism “, emphasizing that “this year, with a great effort and plan of the Government, we managed to open tourism in a timely and safe manner. We also managed to continue the tourist season, which persists in many parts of the country. ”

Addressing the German travel agents, he pointed out that “Greece is more than an ideal holiday destination. As you will see, it is the right place to shape the future of tourism, both for visitors and for local communities. ” “We invest significantly in the digital transformation of tourism services, in sustainable tourism development and in the variety of options and experiences that our visitors of all ages from all over the world can have”, concluded Mr. Fraggakis.

The DRV Conference is organized for the first time after 71 years in Greece, co-organized by the Hellenic Tourism Organization, the Association of Tourist and Travel Agencies in Greece and the Federation of Hellenic Travel Agencies (HATTA / FedHATTA) and is a one of the most important tourist events in the world. More than 450 tour operators, travel agents, representatives of internet companies, as well as travel editors from the most important German media, with a physical presence, participate, while there is also a large number of participants online.