Tourism Min.: We expect 900,000 tourists from Serbia

About 900,000 travelers are expected in Greece from Serbia this year, as emerged from meetings with the country’s tour operators with Greek Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias, who is in Belgrade for a series of contacts aimed at promoting the Greek tourism product.

Targeted campaign

Vassilis Kikilias made special reference to the actions taken to promote tourism in Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Kos, Leros and other islands for which a targeted campaign is being carried out by the Ministries of Tourism and Immigration Policy, emphasizing that for these destinations – which stand out for their natural beauty, hotel infrastructure and gastronomy – in addition to the ferry connections that exist, charter flights are also increasing.

In addition, as he underlined, the impressive transformation of the Greek tourism product is evident from the fact that now when we talk about tourism we are not only referring to destinations with a strong brand but also to areas such as Central and Western Macedonia, and the islands of the northeastern Aegean.

Encouraging facts

The Minister of Tourism stated that despite the fact that this year we are going through a year of multiple crises, with a serious strategy the winter destinations opened, the cruise industry was strengthened many times over and the tourist destinations worked very satisfactorily during Easter and the May Day three day weekend. “And now the data is very encouraging. Half a million direct travelers from America, Greece is the first destination for French travelers, tourism support from Great Britain, from the Scandinavian countries, exceptional data from TUI and Der Turistik in Germany, from Israel but also from Balkan countries, Greece is the number 1 road destination for Romanian travelers,” said Mr. Kikilias.

Industry support

Speaking to public broadcaster ERT, Mr. Kikilias referred to the apparent support of the government to Greek society during the pandemic, with 44 billion euros, of which 3 billion went to the tourism sector and now with 6.5 billion to be given to tackle the energy crisis.

30 million for “Tourism for All” scheme

Regarding the “Tourism for All” program, the minister stated that this year 30 million euros will be given, ie 10 million euros more than last year, for families that are facing financial difficulties and who with a free pass – without bureaucratic procedures and delays – will be able to take vacations.