“Athens suffered greatly in recent years and, in a volatile global environment, showed its potential and a walk in downtown Athens, the historic commercial district, is enough for someone to realise that the visitors have returned,” Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias said in an interview with RealFM on Tuesday, underlining that “the fact that we took the decision to start the tourism season earlier played a key role in this recovery.”
He said that “the launch of direct flights from the USA on March 7, the increase of cruises with Pireaus as homeport, brings the passengers to Athens and contributes to the increase of tourist flows creating revenues for the city’s economy.”
In the same context, he announced that the German airline Condor on Tuesday resumed flights from Dusseldorf and Leipzig after almost 20 years, underlining that “Condor’s decision to choose Athens’ airport reflects the company’s trust in the Greek capital as a destination as well as its growing momentum in the German market”.
Referring to the tourism ministry’s strategy, Kikilias said that “the target is for the greatest possible revenues to support the Greek family and that’s why we are focusing on high-spending visitors from all markets, with emphasis on the USA.”
