Greek Tourism Minister: Emphasis this year on quality, not quantity

Greek Tourism Minister Haris Theoharis fell back on “positive mode” on Thursday in referring to the all-important tourism season in the country, noting, among others, that the “wager” this year will be to boost quality, and not necessarily quantity.

To press home the message, he said 2021 is a year for “reinforcing Greece’s brand-name”.

Theoharis spoke at the Economist conference taking place in Athens.

Nevertheless, he avoided making any forecast for 2021, as a resurgent pandemic in many countries and the emergence of new Covid-19 variants has dramatically dampened hopes in Greece and other Mediterranean destinations of a noteworthy recovery in the sector.

While arrivals from the major UK market still tenuous, the Greek minister pointed to what he said was a significant hike in the number of flights from the US this year, forecasting that Greece will be the number one European destination for American visitors this year.

Returning to the all-important British market, Theoharis welcomed a decision by the UK government to not impose a quarantine on people returning to the British isles after vacation, but after July 19.