Delphi Forum – Fraggakis: Greece is a potential tourist destination all year round

The General Secretary of the Hellenic Tourism Organization, Dimitris Fraggakis, discussed the course of Greek tourism, its challenges and prospects with journalist, Christos Konstas, in the discussion entitled “The crown jewel of the Greek economy at a crossroads” at the Delphi Economic Forum held under the auspices of the President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

On the occasion of today’s official opening of Greek tourism, Mr. Fraggakis stressed that “today is the end of a project that began two months ago” and added that it is also the beginning of a marathon. As he said, last year, the industry experienced a shock. No one knew how to deal with this situation. This year we have vaccines, a green certificate, more and cheaper tests and other tools that allow us a safe and optimistic opening.

Mr. Fraggakis referred to the promotion campaign of Greek tourism, saying that “this year we are undertaking the biggest promotion campaign in the last ten years”, the budget for which will exceed 23 million euros. He said that there is great interest in Greece and “we hope that the interest will turn into reservations”, while he clarified that this year we know that we will have last minute reservations.

Asked about this, he answered that this year he believes that more tourism businesses – and hotels – will be opened than last year, however he clarified that he can not quantify this, but he deduces it from the messages he receives from market participants.

The core of Greek tourism is “sun and sea”, but we can not leave it there. We maintain this, but it is enriched by other important things that our country has to offer, such as activities, mountains, gastronomy and much more, explained Mr. Fraggakis, speaking about the Greek government’s strategy for the future of Greek tourism, adding that “Greece is a potential year-round tourist destination.”

“Last year, we had a survival strategy, this year we are moving towards a recovery strategy,” stressed the General Secretary of the Hellenic Tourism Organization, estimating that the pandemic will change the way one chooses the way of one’s vacation, even the time of one’s vacation, as Greece, for example, has weather conditions that allow summer tourism in October as well.

At the same time, he spoke about the program of strengthening urban tourism that EOT is developing, adding that protocols are being formed for conference tourism, which has been significantly affected. He concluded by saying that the country is ready to receive visitors safely, while stressing that “this year we opened two months earlier than last year”.