Tourism Min. – The tourist development of Greece is a national effort

The bill of the Ministry of Tourism “Standard Tourist Destinations of Integrated Management, Management and Promotion Organizations, Spas of Greece and other regulations for the enhancement of tourist development” was voted last in, night in Parliament.

“Tourism is a matter for the many, not the few. I will defend it and we will defend it with all the force of our voice, our energy, our political decisions and our legislation”, stressed the Minister of Tourism Vassilis Kikilias in his address.

Mr. Kikilias characterized the development bill, which strategically supports the tourism product and responds to the needs of the tourism sector, offering modern tools for tourism development in all regions of the country.

“The bill brings a strategy that extends a network of tourism development tools to all regions. It is a huge asset for us that we are the number 5 tourist brand in the world. And we will ensure this as the apple of our eye, with initiatives that will further strengthen the tourism brands we have. We have to highlight all the Regions and Municipalities of the country, which have areas of unparalleled beauty “, pointed out the Minister of Tourism, emphasizing that” we have 320 million euros from the RRF, precisely for these tools: ports, marinas, ski resorts, thermal spas, accessibility for the disabled, digitization of Tourism “.

“There is a lot of hard work behind this bill. Our effort can be neither micro-political, nor partisan, nor governmental. This is a national and supra-local effort. “It settles the issue of thermal springs and the issue of the Zakynthos shipwreck and comes to provide tools, such as Destination Management and Promotion Organizations (DMOs), and a series of provisions on individual tourism issues that have been lagging behind for a long time,” he noted. Mr. Kikilias.

Specifically for the establishment of a public limited company “Thermal Springs of Greece” for the organized development of wellness tourism, Mr. Kikilias stressed that “in direct connection with the RRF, we enable a public limited company to manage the thermal springs, if the Municipalities do not have the opportunity to take advantage of them, and return the dividend to local communities. Of course, we are not confiscating the property of the Municipalities “, he stated characteristically.

Regarding the amendment for the shipwreck of Zakynthos, Mr. Kikilias stated that a solution is being given to a chronic problem that was perpetuated and pointed out that the regulation provides for the management of the demarcated zone in order to protect the environment, avoid the risk of shipwreck collapse. its maintenance, the safe configuration of the access passages to it and the protection of visitors.

Responding to the objections of opposition MPs about the interests served by the regulation, the Minister of Tourism stressed that in the Committee for Standard Tourism Utilization and Protection of the Shipwreck, 4 out of 5 members are from Zakynthos and the work of the Committee is the works for the possible escape route, if necessary, and the restoration, repair and support of the wreck.

The Minister of Tourism also referred to the campaign abroad for winter destinations that started on Friday. “The goal of the campaign is not the Christmas holidays. For the holiday season, as you see that there is full occupancy in the majority of winter destinations. Our strategy is four months long, which has always been traditionally the difficult months for Tourism. We will cover the winter destinations, the alternative destinations, the city break and the opportunity that all the Regions and the Municipalities of the country will have to see their effort reflected in the promotion abroad and at home.

The Ministry of Tourism has an obligation to support all these destinations, always promoting safety, vaccination and health protocols. “This is what we did for two years and that is why the country acquired this brand, everyone trusted it abroad and, in fact, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis as its leader, we changed the image of the country from the outside to the inside”, he pointed out.

Mr. Kikilias thanked the Deputy Minister Sofia Zacharaki and the General Secretary Vicky Loizou and the former Minister Haris Theocharis and their collaborators, for the great effort they have made. “Of course there is continuity in the administration and I am not one of the politicians who come to level what their predecessors have done, even if they are from a different political party,” he noted.